Prince William County tornado history

14 tornadoes touched Prince William County, Virginia between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.2 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Jan 26, 1978). Tornadoes here killed 1 and injured 12 people.

14tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

1killed · 12 injured

11 milongest path · 2001

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

By rating

(E)F010

(E)F11

(E)F22

(E)F31

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: September.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Jan 26, 1978	F3	0.7 mi	250 yd	10	1
Sep 17, 2004	F2	4 mi	250 yd	0	0
Sep 27, 1993	F2	3 mi	100 yd	2	0
Apr 27, 2011	EF1	5.8 mi	125 yd	0	0
Sep 24, 2001	F0	11 mi	75 yd	0	0
Sep 8, 2004	F0	5.5 mi	150 yd	0	0
Apr 27, 2011	EF0	3.3 mi	50 yd	0	0
Oct 13, 2011	EF0	2.7 mi	75 yd	0	0
Jun 20, 2015	EF0	2.1 mi	100 yd	0	0
Oct 13, 2011	EF0	1.6 mi	75 yd	0	0
Jul 23, 2008	EF0	1.4 mi	30 yd	0	0
May 22, 2001	F0	1 mi	50 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
Jun 20, 2015	EF0	2.1 mi	100 yd	0
Oct 13, 2011	EF0	2.7 mi	75 yd	0
Oct 13, 2011	EF0	1.6 mi	75 yd	0
Apr 27, 2011	EF0	3.3 mi	50 yd	0
Apr 27, 2011	EF1	5.8 mi	125 yd	0
Jul 23, 2008	EF0	1.4 mi	30 yd	0
Sep 17, 2004	F2	4 mi	250 yd	0
Sep 8, 2004	F0	5.5 mi	150 yd	0
Sep 24, 2001	F0	11 mi	75 yd	0
May 22, 2001	F0	1 mi	50 yd	0
Oct 14, 1995	F0	0.7 mi	40 yd	0
Sep 27, 1993	F2	3 mi	100 yd	2

Deadliest: Jan 26, 1978, F3, 1 killed.

Nearby counties

Manassas city, VA1 Fairfax County, VA22 Fauquier County, VA28 Stafford County, VA17 Falls Church city, VA1 Alexandria city, VA2 Arlington County, VA4 Loudoun County, VA28

Questions

How many tornadoes has Prince William County, Virginia had?

14 tornadoes touched Prince William County, Virginia between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.2 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Prince William County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Jan 26, 1978, with a 0.7-mile path and 1 deaths.

When is tornado season in Prince William County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in September (4 of 14). 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.