Morgan County, West Virginia

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 54065 · population 17,057 · 229 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 626 records for Morgan County, West Virginia from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 521 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (197 records). 380 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the June 1, 2004 thunderstorm wind: 1 death. FEMA has issued 17 declarations naming the county since 1972, 15 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storm” on January 24, 2026.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
626on 521 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
20 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$8.2Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
2strongest F0
FEMA declarations
17latest 2026

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Morgan County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 197 since 1996. 62% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among West Virginia's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Morgan County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Winter storms 197 193 1996-2026 0 0 $27K 4 of 53
Severe thunderstorm wind 140 89 1963-2026 1 0 $1.2M 10 of 53
Floods 71 50 1996-2025 1 0 $1.9M 10 of 53
Extreme cold 47 47 1997-2026 0 0 $368K 5 of 53
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 47 46 2005-2021 0 0 – 4 of 53
Heat 37 37 1997-2024 0 0 – 2 of 53
High wind and dust storms 33 32 1996-2023 0 0 $407K 5 of 53
Hail 30 23 1957-2024 0 0 $1.1M 19 of 53
Drought 11 11 1997-1999 0 0 $3.0M 18 of 53
Heavy rain 10 10 2000-2003 0 0 – 4 of 53
Tornadoes 2 2 1994-2004 0 0 $40K 19 of 53
Lightning 1 1 2000-2000 0 0 $129K 18 of 53

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Morgan County had?

NOAA records 2 tornadoes in Morgan County from 1994 to 2004, the strongest rated F0, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 19th of 53 West Virginia counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 2 tornadoes whose track touched Morgan County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 2, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in West Virginia.

Every tornado record filed for Morgan County (2)
Every tornado recorded in Morgan County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2004-09-17 Sleepy Creek, Morgan County F0 0.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $39K
1994-08-17 Paw Paw, Morgan County F0 3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $995

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Morgan County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 14, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for Morgan County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-14 Thunderstorm WindJohnsons Mill, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-06-11 Thunderstorm WindStohrs Xrds, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-06-11 Thunderstorm WindBerkeley Spgs, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2026-06-06 Thunderstorm WindSleepy Creek, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $5K
2026-06-06 Thunderstorm WindStohrs Xrds, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $3K
2026-05-13 Thunderstorm WindBerkeley Spgs, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $2K
2026-03-02 Winter WeatherMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2026-01-24 Winter StormMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2026-01-23 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –
2026-01-01 Winter WeatherMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Morgan County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2004-06-01 Thunderstorm WindOmps, Morgan County Tractor trailer blown over by thunderstorm winds. The trailer was then hit by an oncoming truck. 1 fatality occurred. Amount of damage was unknown. 55 kt wind 1 0 –
1996-01-19 Flash FloodAll, Morgan County 1 0 $941K
The costliest records in Morgan County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-07-18 HailBerkeley Spgs, Morgan County 2.50 in hail 0 0 $1.1M
1996-01-19 Flash FloodAll, Morgan County 1 0 $941K
2025-04-19 Thunderstorm WindBerkeley Spgs, Morgan County 65 kt wind 0 0 $500K
1997-04-10 Frost/FreezeMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan 0 0 $368K
2004-09-17 TornadoSleepy Creek, Morgan County F0 0.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $39K
2025-06-26 Thunderstorm WindJohnsons Mill, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $4K
2026-06-06 Thunderstorm WindStohrs Xrds, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $3K
2025-03-16 Thunderstorm WindGreat Cacapon, Morgan County 52 kt wind 0 0 $2K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Morgan County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Morgan County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Winter storms––––20558240
Severe thunderstorm wind01006197341
Floods––––4193612
Extreme cold––––2171810
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds––––0530 z12
Heat––––614134

Fog, smoke and funnel clouds in the 2010s: 30 records against 5 in the decade before, 30 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Morgan County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

62% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 93 · Feb 81 · Mar 45 · Apr 35 · May 39 · Jun 65 · Jul 55 · Aug 63 · Sep 49 · Oct 26 · Nov 13 · Dec 62 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Morgan County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Morgan County: 11 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and hurricane (3).

Declarations including Morgan County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2026-01-24EM-3639Winter StormSevere Winter Storm
2020-04-03DR-4517BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3450BiologicalCovid-19
2018-07-12DR-4378Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
2012-10-29EM-3358HurricaneHurricane Sandy
2012-06-30EM-3345Severe StormSevere Storms
2010-04-23DR-1903SnowstormSevere Winter Storms and Snowstorms
2005-09-05EM-3221HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2004-09-20DR-1558Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Landslides
2003-09-23DR-1496HurricaneHurricane Isabel
2003-03-14DR-1455Severe StormSevere Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides
1996-09-11DR-1137Severe StormHurricane Fran and Associated Heavy Rains,Flooding Highwind
1996-01-25DR-1096FloodFlooding
1996-01-13DR-1084SnowstormBlizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)
1993-03-17EM-3109SnowstormSevere Snowfall & Winter Storm
1985-11-07DR-753FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1972-07-03DR-344FloodTropical Storm Agnes

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Morgan County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 71 flood or flash flood records for Morgan County from 1996 to 2025, on 50 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Morgan County ranks 935th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Morgan County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Fran1996-09-0610

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.1 million on 204 claims filed in Morgan County; the most in one year was 127 in 1996. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 1 · 1985: 13 · 1993: 2 · 1995: 1 · 1996: 127 · 1997: 1 · 2000: 2 · 2003: 10 · 2004: 3 · 2005: 1 · 2006: 8 · 2008: 2 · 2010: 1 · 2012: 18 · 2015: 2 · 2018: 10 · 2022: 1 · 2025: 1; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Morgan County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morgan County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Morgan County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$569K4.3 a year (modeled)
LandslideRelatively Low$17Konce in about 2 years (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively Low$209Konce in about 22 years (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Low$6.1M1.6 a year (modeled)
DroughtRelatively Low$126K3.9 modeled event-days a year
Winter WeatherRelatively Low$23K14 a year (modeled)
AvalancheVery Low$556once in about 100 years (modeled)
Heat WaveVery Low$136K3.2 modeled event-days a year

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Morgan County

  1. Allegany County, MD 1,294
  2. Washington County, MD 1,139
  3. Berkeley County 954
  4. Frederick County, VA 930
  5. Hampshire County 732
  6. Morgan County 626

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next