Cold Wave Risk in Virginia

All Virginia counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index cold wave score

Cold Wave risk — prolonged spells of dangerously low temperatures — is rated for 133 of 133 Virginia counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Smyth County carries the state's highest cold wave score at 91.2, with $6M in expected annual cold wave losses.

2 Virginia counties are rated High or Very High for cold wave, and expected annual losses from cold wave total roughly $76M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Cold Wave

#CountyCold Wave ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Smyth County
91.2
High 4.58 / yr $6M
2 Carroll County
89.3
High 3.94 / yr $5M
3 Wythe County
88.7
Medium 4.42 / yr $5M
4 Fairfax County
83.0
Medium 1.36 / yr $6M
5 Russell County
79.9
Medium 2.32 / yr $3M
6 Grayson County
79.5
Medium 4.84 / yr $3M
7 Wise County
75.5
Medium 2.21 / yr $2M
8 Tazewell County
75.1
Medium 4.42 / yr $2M
9 Norfolk City
70.4
Medium 0.47 / yr $2M
10 Buchanan County
70.3
Medium 0.79 / yr $1M
11 Montgomery County
69.2
Medium 3.89 / yr $2M
12 Newport News City
64.6
Low 0.47 / yr $2M
13 Bland County
64.1
Low 4.68 / yr $2M
14 Lee County
63.1
Low 1.42 / yr $937K
15 Galax City
61.2
Low 3.89 / yr $1M
16 Henry County
60.6
Low 0.84 / yr $933K
17 Roanoke City
58.7
Low 2.89 / yr $1M
18 Hampton City
56.6
Low 0.47 / yr $1M
19 Accomack County
56.2
Low 0.84 / yr $845K
20 Virginia Beach City
56.1
Low 0.46 / yr $2M
21 Pulaski County
55.8
Low 3.90 / yr $918K
22 Alleghany County
55.8
Low 4.89 / yr $1M
23 Richmond City
54.5
Low 0.58 / yr $1M
24 Washington County
52.5
Low 2.31 / yr $878K
25 Portsmouth City
48.4
Low 0.47 / yr $908K
26 Roanoke County
47.4
Low 2.89 / yr $998K
27 Chesapeake City
45.6
Low 0.47 / yr $1M
28 Suffolk City
43.8
Low 0.47 / yr $903K
29 Patrick County
43.4
Low 1.16 / yr $637K
30 Rockingham County
41.3
Low 2.21 / yr $708K
31 Augusta County
40.5
Low 2.25 / yr $611K
32 Dickenson County
38.4
Low 0.79 / yr $461K
33 James City County
36.9
Low 0.47 / yr $733K
34 Pittsylvania County
36.2
Low 0.79 / yr $394K
35 Giles County
34.1
Low 4.58 / yr $425K
36 Floyd County
34.0
Low 3.90 / yr $541K
37 Rockbridge County
33.5
Low 3.10 / yr $422K
38 Mecklenburg County
33.0
Low 0.53 / yr $349K
39 Bedford County
33.0
Low 1.37 / yr $512K
40 Danville City
31.0
Low 0.79 / yr $302K
41 Franklin County
31.0
Low 1.16 / yr $362K
42 Arlington County
30.2
Low 1.25 / yr $617K
43 Botetourt County
30.1
Low 3.00 / yr $550K
44 Shenandoah County
29.3
Low 2.01 / yr $350K
45 Gloucester County
29.2
Low 0.58 / yr $449K
46 Page County
28.7
Low 2.19 / yr $313K
47 Northumberland County
28.6
Low 0.89 / yr $262K
48 York County
27.7
Low 0.45 / yr $631K
49 Northampton County
27.5
Low 0.68 / yr $247K
50 Bristol City
27.4
Low 2.31 / yr $245K
51 Radford City
26.7
Low 3.89 / yr $389K
52 Prince Edward County
26.4
Low 0.53 / yr $239K
53 Covington City
26.1
Low 4.89 / yr $348K
54 Scott County
25.3
Low 1.37 / yr $211K
55 Alexandria City
25.1
Low 1.26 / yr $404K
56 Loudoun County
24.6
Low 1.76 / yr $493K
57 Lancaster County
24.5
Low 0.89 / yr $224K
58 Norton City
24.5
Low 2.21 / yr $217K
59 Isle of Wight County
24.3
Low 0.47 / yr $391K
60 Highland County
23.9
Low 7.46 / yr $283K
61 Bath County
23.8
Very Low 5.58 / yr $269K
62 Prince William County
23.7
Very Low 1.36 / yr $404K
63 Prince George County
23.4
Very Low 0.47 / yr $408K
64 Martinsville City
23.4
Very Low 0.84 / yr $210K
65 Nottoway County
23.3
Very Low 0.53 / yr $187K
66 Charlotte County
22.6
Very Low 0.63 / yr $165K
67 Dinwiddie County
22.3
Very Low 0.47 / yr $268K
68 Appomattox County
21.8
Very Low 0.79 / yr $266K
69 Lunenburg County
20.6
Very Low 0.53 / yr $136K
70 Brunswick County
20.5
Very Low 0.53 / yr $180K
71 Middlesex County
20.1
Very Low 0.68 / yr $163K
72 Southampton County
19.8
Very Low 0.47 / yr $206K
73 Greensville County
17.9
Very Low 0.47 / yr $117K
74 Salem City
17.7
Very Low 2.89 / yr $243K
75 Lynchburg City
17.2
Very Low 0.84 / yr $168K
76 Harrisonburg City
16.3
Very Low 2.16 / yr $173K
77 Sussex County
15.9
Very Low 0.47 / yr $121K
78 Lexington City
15.6
Very Low 3.11 / yr $130K
79 Halifax County
14.7
Very Low 0.63 / yr $90K
80 Amherst County
14.5
Very Low 1.48 / yr $126K
81 Nelson County
14.2
Very Low 1.89 / yr $113K
82 Mathews County
13.8
Very Low 0.58 / yr $100K
83 Frederick County
12.8
Very Low 1.94 / yr $169K
84 Buena Vista City
12.3
Very Low 3.11 / yr $104K
85 Staunton City
12.2
Very Low 2.16 / yr $117K
86 Stafford County
12.1
Very Low 1.00 / yr $154K
87 Craig County
12.0
Very Low 4.74 / yr $86K
88 Fauquier County
11.9
Very Low 1.60 / yr $156K
89 Westmoreland County
11.8
Very Low 0.89 / yr $80K
90 Franklin City
11.6
Very Low 0.47 / yr $77K
91 Campbell County
11.5
Very Low 0.84 / yr $86K
92 Charles City County
11.4
Very Low 0.47 / yr $71K
93 Albemarle County
11.2
Very Low 1.66 / yr $96K
94 Waynesboro City
10.9
Very Low 2.16 / yr $109K
95 Williamsburg City
10.9
Very Low 0.46 / yr $137K
96 Winchester City
10.5
Very Low 1.95 / yr $76K
97 Rappahannock County
10.3
Very Low 2.06 / yr $71K
98 Surry County
10.3
Very Low 0.47 / yr $75K
99 Madison County
10.0
Very Low 1.95 / yr $80K
100 Manassas City
9.8
Very Low 1.37 / yr $84K
101 King George County
9.1
Very Low 1.00 / yr $94K
102 Greene County
9.1
Very Low 2.03 / yr $66K
103 Emporia City
9.1
Very Low 0.47 / yr $54K
104 Manassas Park City
9.0
Very Low 1.37 / yr $67K
105 Orange County
8.9
Very Low 1.11 / yr $81K
106 Warren County
8.7
Very Low 1.95 / yr $78K
107 Poquoson City
8.6
Very Low 0.47 / yr $116K
108 Charlottesville City
8.4
Very Low 1.58 / yr $70K
109 Clarke County
8.4
Very Low 1.74 / yr $85K
110 Henrico County
8.1
Very Low 0.57 / yr $63K
111 Richmond County
7.7
Very Low 0.89 / yr $39K
112 Buckingham County
7.6
Very Low 0.74 / yr $33K
113 Culpeper County
7.3
Very Low 1.26 / yr $44K
114 Amelia County
7.0
Very Low 0.53 / yr $39K
115 Caroline County
6.9
Very Low 0.63 / yr $42K
116 Essex County
6.7
Very Low 0.70 / yr $29K
117 Spotsylvania County
6.6
Very Low 0.94 / yr $51K
118 Chesterfield County
6.1
Very Low 0.47 / yr $44K
119 Cumberland County
5.9
Very Low 0.58 / yr $20K
120 Louisa County
5.8
Very Low 0.68 / yr $27K
121 Hanover County
5.3
Very Low 0.62 / yr $31K
122 Fairfax City
5.2
Very Low 1.37 / yr $28K
123 New Kent County
5.1
Very Low 0.58 / yr $21K
124 Fredericksburg City
4.7
Very Low 0.94 / yr $20K
125 King and Queen County
4.5
Very Low 0.60 / yr $8K
126 Falls Church City
4.5
Very Low 1.27 / yr $18K
127 Goochland County
4.4
Very Low 0.69 / yr $12K
128 Fluvanna County
4.4
Very Low 0.69 / yr $10K
129 King William County
4.4
Very Low 0.61 / yr $13K
130 Powhatan County
4.1
Very Low 0.58 / yr $9K
131 Petersburg City
3.8
Very Low 0.47 / yr $4K
132 Hopewell City
3.7
Very Low 0.47 / yr $3K
133 Colonial Heights City
3.4
Very Low 0.44 / yr $2K

133 Virginia counties with measurable cold wave risk. See the national cold wave ranking or all Virginia counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Virginia county has the highest cold wave risk?

Smyth County has the highest FEMA cold wave risk score in Virginia at 91.2 (High), with $6M in expected annual losses and about 4.58 events per year.

How many Virginia counties face significant cold wave risk?

133 Virginia counties record measurable cold wave risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 2 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in Virginia

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