Fairfax County tornado history

22 tornadoes touched Fairfax County, Virginia between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.3 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Sep 5, 1979). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 47 people.

22tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 47 injured

20 milongest path · 1996

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F012

(E)F14

(E)F24

(E)F32

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: April.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Sep 5, 1979	F3	17.9 mi	300 yd	6	1
Apr 1, 1973	F3	9.8 mi	100 yd	37	0
Jun 24, 1996	F2	20 mi	200 yd	1	0
Sep 17, 2004	F2	15 mi	200 yd	1	0
Aug 9, 1969	F2	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jul 28, 1981	F2	0.1 mi	27 yd	0	0
Sep 24, 2001	F1	14 mi	100 yd	2	0
Aug 31, 1952	F1	2 mi	100 yd	0	0
Aug 4, 1992	F1	2 mi	73 yd	0	0
Jul 12, 1987	F1	1.5 mi	23 yd	0	0
Mar 10, 2011	EF0	4.9 mi	75 yd	0	0
Apr 19, 2019	EF0	4.1 mi	100 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
Mar 31, 2022	EF0	0.1 mi	30 yd	0
Mar 31, 2022	EF0	0.1 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 19, 2019	EF0	4.1 mi	100 yd	0
Jul 24, 2018	EF0	0.2 mi	100 yd	0
Apr 6, 2017	EF0	3.2 mi	25 yd	0
Oct 15, 2014	EF0	2.3 mi	75 yd	0
Oct 13, 2011	EF0	2.9 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 27, 2011	EF0	1.1 mi	75 yd	0
Mar 10, 2011	EF0	4.9 mi	75 yd	0
Sep 17, 2004	F2	15 mi	200 yd	1
Sep 24, 2001	F1	14 mi	100 yd	2
Jun 24, 1996	F2	20 mi	200 yd	1

Deadliest: Sep 5, 1979, F3, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Falls Church city, VA1 Arlington County, VA4 Alexandria city, VA2 Manassas city, VA1 Prince William County, VA14 District of Columbia, DC6 Montgomery County, MD29 Prince George's County, MD28

Questions

How many tornadoes has Fairfax County, Virginia had?

22 tornadoes touched Fairfax County, Virginia between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.3 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Fairfax County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Sep 5, 1979, with a 17.9-mile path and 1 deaths.

When is tornado season in Fairfax County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in April (4 of 22). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).