Columbia, VA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Columbia is higher than Virginia average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Columbia is about the same as Virginia average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #15
| Columbia, VA | 1.32 |
| 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
| Columbia, VA | 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, #460
| Columbia, VA | 87.87 |
| 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 3,225 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Columbia, VA 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: | 31 | Dense Fog: | 24 | Drought: | 33 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 343 | Hail: | 577 | Heat: | 29 | Heavy Snow: | 65 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 1 | Ice Storm: | 24 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 85 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,525 | Tropical Storm: | 2 | Wildfire: | 9 | Winter Storm: | 113 | Winter Weather: | 98 |
| Other: | 265 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Columbia, VA.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Columbia, VA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 11.7 | 1984-08-17 | 4.2 | 8 | 37.87 | -78.32 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 30 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Columbia, VA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 9.9 | 1959-09-30 | 3 | 37°52'N / 78°18'W | 37°54'N / 78°11'W | 6.50 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Fluvanna |
| 20.8 | 1962-05-08 | 2 | 37°40'N / 77°48'W | 1 | 2 | 0K | 0 | Goochland | |||
| 32.0 | 1959-09-30 | 3 | 38°03'N / 78°37'W | 0.80 Mile | 200 Yards | 11 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Albemarle | |
| 33.4 | 1998-04-01 | 3 | 37°53'N / 77°37'W | 37°53'N / 77°32'W | 5.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 2 | 0 | 800K | 0 | Hanover |
| Brief Description: F39PH, M1PH | |||||||||||
| 33.7 | 1985-07-25 | 3 | 38°12'N / 78°25'W | 38°12'N / 78°25'W | 0.10 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Albemarle |
| 33.7 | 1985-07-25 | 3 | 38°12'N / 78°25'W | 38°12'N / 78°25'W | 0.10 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Greene |
| 34.5 | 1965-08-17 | 2 | 38°15'N / 78°06'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Orange | |||
| 35.1 | 1962-08-09 | 2 | 38°05'N / 78°00'W | 38°19'N / 77°43'W | 22.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Louisa |
| 36.7 | 1966-06-16 | 3 | 37°31'N / 78°46'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Buckingham | |
| 37.1 | 1970-06-21 | 2 | 37°21'N / 77°43'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chesterfield | |||
| 38.3 | 2004-09-17 | 2 | 38°17'N / 78°26'W | 38°15'N / 78°26'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 3.0M | 0 | Greene |
| Brief Description: A tornadic thunderstorm touched down near Standardsville. A roof was torn off a building just south of U.S. Highway 33. The roof was also torn off a house just north of U.S. Highway 33. The most extensive damage occurred around Highway 621. Four dwellings and a mobile home were destroyed. Approximately 50 other structures were damaged, including a nearby country club and a concrete block building. A trailer filled with cattle gates was also destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 39.3 | 1998-04-01 | 2 | 37°53'N / 77°30'W | 37°54'N / 77°26'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 200K | 0 | Caroline |
| Brief Description: Supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado along a 9 mile path extending from near Coatesville in northwest Hanover county eastward into south central Caroline county southeast of Ruther Glen. The damage path was nearly continuous along this track, with damage intensity ranging from F0/F1 to strong F2/F3 in a couple of locations along the path. Damage path ranged from about 200 yards wide to near one quarter of a mile wide at its widest. The most significant structural damage occurred to two homes east of Coatesville. One home was completely destroyed and another severely damaged. Numerous other homes in northwest Hanover and south central Caroline counties sustained lesser damage. In addition, two mobile homes were destroyed in Caroline county. Several churches sustained damage, and several outbuildings were severely damaged or destroyed. There were two areas along the tornado path where entire groves of pine trees were completely flattened by the tornado. There were two fatalities from the storm in the Coatesville area of northwest Hanover county and one minor injury in Caroline county. | |||||||||||
| 39.4 | 1974-05-12 | 2 | 37°11'N / 78°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Nottoway | |||
| 39.6 | 1960-09-10 | 2 | 37°19'N / 78°38'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Buckingham | |
| 40.4 | 1976-06-12 | 2 | 38°20'N / 78°16'W | 0.20 Mile | 3 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Madison | |
| 40.5 | 1959-09-30 | 3 | 38°18'N / 78°26'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 9 | 25K | 0 | Greene | |
| 40.6 | 1951-06-13 | 2 | 37°33'N / 77°29'W | 37°36'N / 77°26'W | 4.10 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Richmond (c) |
| 40.8 | 1990-10-18 | 3 | 38°18'N / 77°58'W | 38°20'N / 77°55'W | 3.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 41.9 | 2004-09-17 | 2 | 38°16'N / 77°55'W | 38°23'N / 77°54'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 75K | 0 | Orange |
| Brief Description: A thunderstorm produced a second tornado in Rhodesville along Route 20 in eastern Orange County. A shed, a horse trailer, and a two silos were destroyed on one farm. A tree was thrown onto a house and a mobile home was demolished. The storm continued its northward and produced sporadic and less significant damage. | |||||||||||
| 42.9 | 1984-05-29 | 2 | 37°30'N / 77°27'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chesterfield | |
| 43.2 | 1969-03-24 | 2 | 37°31'N / 77°26'W | 0.30 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Richmond (c) | |
| 44.7 | 1990-05-04 | 3 | 37°19'N / 77°49'W | 37°14'N / 77°25'W | 8.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Amelia |
| 46.3 | 1966-11-02 | 2 | 37°05'N / 78°00'W | 37°07'N / 77°57'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Nottoway |
| 47.4 | 2004-09-17 | 2 | 38°21'N / 78°24'W | 38°28'N / 78°27'W | 8.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Madison |
| Brief Description: A thunderstorm that moved into Madison County from Greene County produced tornado damage near Hood. A number of homes were damaged. One aluminum garage was destroyed and a rock chimney was topped off. The tornado remained on the ground for several miles and tracked northward into the higher terrain of western Madison County. Several large areas of mature mixed forest were almost completely leveled in the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area and the Shenandoah National Park. | |||||||||||
| 47.9 | 1983-05-22 | 3 | 37°05'N / 77°58'W | 37°05'N / 77°55'W | 2.50 Miles | 37 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Nottoway |
| 47.9 | 1983-05-22 | 3 | 37°05'N / 77°55'W | 37°06'N / 77°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 37 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Dinwiddie |
| 48.1 | 1990-04-02 | 2 | 37°21'N / 77°27'W | 0.20 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chesterfield | |
| 48.3 | 1983-10-13 | 2 | 38°25'N / 77°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Culpeper | |
| 48.3 | 1993-08-06 | 2 | 36°59'N / 78°08'W | 37°15'N / 77°28'W | 38.00 Miles | 175 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5.0M | 0 | Lunenburg, Nottoway, Dinwiddie And Chesterfield |
| Brief Description: The tornado first touched down 1 mile northeast of Kenbridge in Lunenburg County at 1243 EDT, where roofs were blown off of a briquet plant and a furniture company building. Damage estimates in Lunenburg County were $300,000. The tornado moved northeast into southeast Nottoway County and strengthened. It leveled a barn, some outbuildings and trees on Route 46 near the west edge of Fort Pickett Military Reservation. Damages in Nottoway County were estimated at $100,000. It continued northeast into Dinwiddie County and the Fort Pickett Military Reservation where it did minimal damage. It moved northeast to the town of Ford where the most significant damage in the county occurred. It destroyed a house and a shed and knocked down numerous telephone poles, and large trees. The tornado tracked northeast into the southeast part of Chesterfield County and lifted about 5 miles west of Colonial Heights. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1952-04-05 | 2 | 38°13'N / 78°50'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Augusta | |
* 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.