Roanoke valley creeks flood fast and mountain storms hit hard, so check flash flood and severe thunderstorm alerts before you drive
Roanoke's valley creeks flood fast and mountain storms hit hard. Tornadoes are few, 20 within 25 miles, the strongest an F2 in September 2004.
No National Weather Service watches, warnings or advisories are in effect for the center of Roanoke right now. Roanoke is in Roanoke city.
Severe weather and weather alerts in Roanoke right now, with tornado warning, flood warning and heat advisory status
Each row is checked against the National Weather Service alerts for the center of the city, which is in Roanoke city.
| Alert type | Right now |
|---|---|
| Tornado warning or watch | None in effect |
| Severe thunderstorm warning or watch | None in effect |
| Flood warning, flood watch or flash flood warning | None in effect |
| Winter storm warning, blizzard or ice storm | None in effect |
| Heat advisory or excessive heat warning | None in effect |
| Hurricane or tropical storm warning or watch | None in effect |
A watch means conditions are possible, so be ready. A warning means the hazard is happening or expected soon, so act now. What watches, warnings and advisories mean →
Tornado history near Roanoke
Every tornado in the official record that started within 25 miles of the city center, 1953 to 2025.
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Date | Rating | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 17, 2004 | EF2 | 0 | 0 |
| July 15, 1996 | EF2 | 0 | 0 |
| June 9, 1996 | EF2 | 0 | 0 |
| April 4, 1974 | EF2 | 0 | 0 |
| May 17, 1953 | EF2 | 0 | 0 |
Most have come from April through June. The single busiest month is April (25% of the total).
Counts use each tornado's starting point and are limited to the official record, so they cover where tornadoes began, not every place they passed. A tornado that crosses a state line is listed once for each state. Ratings are the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale, assigned after National Weather Service damage surveys. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database. Past counts do not predict the next tornado.
Hurricanes and tropical storms near Roanoke
Storms whose center passed within 60 nautical miles (about 69 miles) with at least 39 mph winds, 1851 to 2025.
| Storm | Date | Winds at closest pass | Strength | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed (1893) | August 29, 1893 | 70 mph | Tropical storm | 39 mi |
| Unnamed (1878) | September 13, 1878 | 60 mph | Tropical storm | 55 mi |
| Fran (1996) | September 6, 1996 | 45 mph | Tropical storm | 67 mi |
| David (1979) | September 6, 1979 | 45 mph | Tropical storm | 33 mi |
| Able (1952) | September 1, 1952 | 45 mph | Tropical storm | 47 mi |
Winds are the storm's maximum sustained winds when its center was closest to the city center in the six-hourly record, not the winds felt in the city, which depend on the storm's size and which side of it you were on. Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2.
Flood zone map for Roanoke
Flood zones are mapped by FEMA, and they are set street by street, so the city center cannot tell you whether your address is in one. FEMA's Flood Map Service Center lets you search an address and see its flood zone.
Be ready in Roanoke
Steps from official sources, with each point linked to the page it comes from.
- Know your evacuation zone by contacting your local government or emergency management office. (NWS: Hurricane plan)
- Build an emergency kit and check equipment such as flashlights, generators and storm shutters. (NWS: Hurricane plan)
- Write or review a family emergency plan: how you will reach each other, where you will go and what you will do. (NWS: Hurricane plan)
- It is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters. Turn around, don't drown. (NWS: Turn Around Don't Drown)
- Never drive around the barriers blocking a flooded road. The road may have collapsed under the water. (NWS: Turn Around Don't Drown)
- Evacuate immediately when water starts to rise, and get to higher ground if you are in a flood-prone or low-lying area. (NWS: During a flood)
- When thunder roars, go indoors. Move from outdoors into a building or a car with a roof. (Ready.gov: Thunderstorms & Lightning)
- Avoid using electronic devices connected to an electrical outlet, and avoid running water. (Ready.gov: Thunderstorms & Lightning)
- Do not drive through flooded roadways. Six inches of fast-moving water can knock you down, and one foot can sweep a vehicle away. (Ready.gov: Thunderstorms & Lightning)
- Do not rely on a fan as your primary cooling device. Fans do not reduce body temperature or prevent heat-related illness. (Ready.gov: Extreme Heat)
- If your home has no air conditioning, find a cooling center, take cool showers or baths, and drink plenty of fluids. (Ready.gov: Extreme Heat)
- Never leave people or pets in a closed car on a warm day. Check on family members, older adults and neighbors. (Ready.gov: Extreme Heat)
- A winter storm watch means conditions are favorable for a significant winter storm: heavy sleet, heavy snow, an ice storm, or a combination. (NWS: Winter watches, warnings and advisories)
- In a winter storm warning, travel can become difficult or impossible. Delay travel until conditions improve. (NWS: Winter watches, warnings and advisories)
- In a blizzard warning, do not travel. If you must, carry a winter survival kit. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle and wait for help. (NWS: Winter watches, warnings and advisories)
- Heavy ice can bring down trees, utility poles and communication towers, and power and communication outages can last days. (NWS: Ice and Frost)
- Even a thin layer of ice is dangerous to drivers and pedestrians, and bridges and overpasses freeze before other surfaces. (NWS: Ice and Frost)
- Black ice is a thin, patchy layer on roads that is hard to see, most common in early morning, especially when melted snow refreezes overnight. (NWS: Ice and Frost)
Nearby cities
Common questions about weather in Roanoke
What county is Roanoke in?
Roanoke is in Roanoke city, Virginia.
Is there a tornado watch, tornado warning, winter storm, ice storm, snow or other weather warning in Roanoke and the rest of Roanoke city right now?
The National Weather Service has no active alerts for the center of Roanoke right now. An alert can cover only part of Roanoke city, so the Virginia alerts page lists every county with an active National Weather Service alert.
What happened in the EF2 tornado near Roanoke on September 17, 2004?
It is the strongest tornado in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center record that started within 25 miles of the center of Roanoke. It was rated EF2, caused no recorded deaths or injuries, and began in Virginia. Of the 20 tornadoes that started that close since 1950, 5 were rated EF2 or stronger. Ratings before 2007 use the original Fujita scale.
How many tornadoes have started within 25 miles of Roanoke?
20 tornadoes from 1953 through 2025, 12 of them since 2000. In the last 10 years (2016 to 2025) there were 8, and 2018 was the busiest year with 3. Most came from April through June, and April is the busiest single month (25% of the total). One tornado that crosses a county or state line can appear as two records.
When did a tornado last start near Roanoke?
The most recent tornado in the database that started within 25 miles of the center of Roanoke began on September 27, 2024 and was rated EF1. The database runs through 2025, so it does not include anything after that.
How does Roanoke compare with other Virginia cities for tornadoes?
Roanoke has 20 tornadoes within 25 miles of its center, which ranks 5th of the 5 Virginia cities that have a page here. Richmond has the most with 85, followed by Norfolk with 80. The counts depend on how big an area each city's circle covers, so use them as a rough comparison.
Has a tropical storm ever passed near Roanoke?
An unnamed storm in 1893 is the strongest on record: winds of 70 mph (tropical storm) at its closest recorded position on August 29, 1893, about 39 miles away. In all, 7 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 60 nautical miles (about 69 miles) of Roanoke since 1851. September has the most (57%). Wind and damage in the city itself depend on a storm's size and path.
Alerts come from the National Weather Service, the NOAA Storm Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center.