Hurricanes that hit Grayson County, Virginia: hurricane history

13 storms have passed within 50 km of Grayson County from 1920 to 2020, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Grayson County

The record holds 13 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Grayson County, Virginia between 1920 and 2020. The busiest month is August, with 4 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached tropical storm strength.

  • 13storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 0at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Grayson County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression862%
Tropical storm538%
Category 100%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity00%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Grayson County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 2 in 1920s.1920s21940s21950s21960s11980s11990s12000s22020s2

The 2020s only run to 2020, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1920, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1920s2
1940s2
1950s2
1960s1
1980s1
1990s1
2000s2
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 4 in Aug.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun1Jul1Aug4Sep4Oct2Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun1
Jul1
Aug4
Sep4
Oct2
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Grayson County

  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1949 (North Atlantic)23 August 1949 to 1 September 1949, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 954 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1927 (North Atlantic)30 September 1927 to 4 October 1927, peak Tropical storm (50 kt)
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa

Most recent storms near Grayson County

  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Bertha (2020)27 May 2020 to 28 May 2020, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,005 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

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