Gloucester County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Gloucester County is about the same as Virginia average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Gloucester County is about the same as Virginia average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #109
| Gloucester County | 0.02 |
| Virginia | 0.20 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Gloucester County | 0.0000 |
| Virginia | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #51
| Gloucester County | 97.21 |
| Virginia | 88.66 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 6,746 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Gloucester County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 1 | Cold: | 38 | Dense Fog: | 21 | Drought: | 68 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 500 | Hail: | 1,342 | Heat: | 33 | Heavy Snow: | 78 |
| High Surf: | 3 | Hurricane: | 20 | Ice Storm: | 25 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 155 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 3,470 | Tropical Storm: | 13 | Wildfire: | 2 | Winter Storm: | 161 | Winter Weather: | 125 |
| Other: | 691 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Gloucester County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Gloucester County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Gloucester County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 23 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Gloucester County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 21.2 | 1981-05-11 | 2 | 37°41'N / 76°41'W | 0.20 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Middlesex | |
| 23.0 | 1986-10-14 | 3 | 37°18'N / 76°57'W | 37°19'N / 76°54'W | 5.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Charlotte |
| 24.1 | 1984-05-08 | 2 | 37°20'N / 77°04'W | 37°22'N / 76°51'W | 15.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Charlotte |
| 28.4 | 1979-09-05 | 2 | 37°01'N / 76°21'W | 0.50 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Hampton (c) | |
| 28.4 | 1999-09-04 | 2 | 37°01'N / 76°21'W | 37°01'N / 76°21'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 6 | 7.7M | 0 | Hampton (c) |
| Brief Description: Tornado touchdown in the city of Hampton. Extensive structural damage in a 3 block area. Numerous minor injuries, with 6 people transported to the hospital. Three apartment complexes and an assisted living facility condemned. Two additional apartment complexes partially condemned. There were 300 persons from apartment complexes forced to evacuate while 160 persons from the assisted living facility were forced to evacuate. Many roofs were lifted off buildings and as much as 800 vehicles were reported damaged. One 18 wheel tractor trailer was overturned. There was not a continuous damage swath, but areas where the tornado did not completely touch the ground. In some areas the tops of trees were sheared off. This tornado formed in the area ahead of the landfalling tropical storm/hurricane Dennis. There were 6600 persons without power. | |||||||||||
| 29.6 | 1979-09-05 | 3 | 36°59'N / 76°25'W | 2.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Newport News (c) | |
| 30.3 | 1975-04-25 | 2 | 37°50'N / 76°38'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Richmond | |||
| 33.4 | 1969-06-21 | 2 | 37°17'N / 75°56'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Northampton | |||
| 34.4 | 1990-10-18 | 3 | 37°37'N / 77°06'W | 37°40'N / 77°03'W | 5.00 Miles | 430 Yards | 1 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | King William |
| 35.8 | 1978-04-19 | 3 | 37°02'N / 77°01'W | 37°05'N / 77°00'W | 3.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Surry |
| 35.9 | 1989-05-02 | 2 | 37°53'N / 76°24'W | 37°56'N / 76°20'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Northumberland |
| 40.8 | 1966-11-02 | 3 | 37°58'N / 76°45'W | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Richmond | |||
| 40.9 | 1984-05-08 | 3 | 37°18'N / 77°18'W | 37°19'N / 77°13'W | 5.00 Miles | 1500 Yards | 0 | 15 | 2.5M | 0 | Hopewell (c) |
| 41.1 | 1983-08-31 | 2 | 37°58'N / 76°46'W | 0.20 Mile | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Richmond | |
| 42.3 | 2008-04-28 | 3 | 36°42'N / 76°41'W | 36°53'N / 76°24'W | 16.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 200 | 30.0M | 0K | Suffolk (c) |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down with damage first noted about 2 miles northeast of Lummis. The tornado crossed Route 58, downing trees as it moved northeast. The tornado strengthened just south of the intersection of Route 10 AND Route 58, where it damaged several homes and an elementary school as well as downing numerous trees. The intense tornado crossed Route 58 again and then Route 10 before hitting the Freedom Plaza shopping center where it destroyed a strip mall and tossed around numerous cars. One car was impaled into a building adjacent to the strip mall. Thereafter, the tornado moved into 2 subdivisions east and northeast of Obici Hospital. Many homes were damaged with at least a dozen completely destroyed. The tornado then continued into Driver where it damaged a number of homes and businesses and downed numeroud trees. The tornado then appeared to lift just north of Driver, although amateur video and pictures suggested that the tornado maintained close contact with the ground as it tracked northeast across northern portions of Portsmouth to the Norfolk Naval Air Station. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms in advance of a cold front produced numerous tornadoes across central and eastern Virginia. | |||||||||||
| 42.8 | 1969-07-06 | 2 | 37°13'N / 77°16'W | 0.50 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Prince George | |
| 43.7 | 1986-10-14 | 2 | 37°16'N / 77°18'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Prince George | |
| 46.5 | 1993-08-06 | 4 | 37°12'N / 77°26'W | 37°19'N / 77°16'W | 12.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 4 | 246 | 50.0M | 0 | Dinwiddie, Prince George And Chesterfield |
| Brief Description: The most devastating tornado of the day touched down one mile southwest of Petersburg at approximately 1330 EDT. This tornado rapidly grew in size and strength as it moved northeast into the commercial historic district of Petersburg. Numerous homes and businesses sustained major damage. Damage estimates for the area were $15 million. Forty people were injured. The tornado crossed the river into Colonial Heights and struck one of the area's shopping districts. It destroyed some buildings and did major damage to numerous other buildings including the the Wal-Mart, where three people were killed and nearly 200 were injured. Total damage estimates in Colonial Heights were $29.5 million. The tornado crossed the Appomattox River again into Prince George County where it struck a sand and gravel pit company. A block building collapsed and numerous vehicles and other equipment were destroyed. One person was killed. Damage estimates were $750,000. It then moved into the northern section of Hopewell, where it ripped into the Riverside Park Apartment Complex, tearing the roofs off of several buildings. Minor damage was done to another 49 homes, major damage to 13 homes and 2 were destroyed. The tornado weakened then dissipated near the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers. Eight people were reported injured and damage estimates were $2.2 million. (F48O) (F40O) (F56O) (M28O) | |||||||||||
| 47.0 | 1988-11-28 | 2 | 36°44'N / 76°55'W | 36°48'N / 76°44'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Isle Of Wight |
| 47.0 | 1973-10-02 | 2 | 37°42'N / 75°45'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Accomack | |||
| 47.8 | 1986-10-14 | 2 | 37°01'N / 77°22'W | 37°07'N / 77°12'W | 13.90 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Prince George |
| 48.4 | 1970-06-21 | 2 | 37°12'N / 77°22'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Petersburg (c) | |||
| 48.4 | 1988-08-03 | 2 | 36°51'N / 75°59'W | 0.20 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Virginia Beach (c) | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.