West Virginia natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 1,791,515 · 55 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 29,911 storm events in West Virginia since 1950, 28,347 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 177 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (8,453). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest storm in West Virginia is the June 23, 2016 flash flood in Greenbrier County: 16 deaths and $50.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 2 records. FEMA has made 85 declarations for West Virginia since 1954, 82 for natural hazards; 73 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in West Virginia 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 29,9111950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 153420 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $2.2Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 1771950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 8573 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in West Virginia?

By NOAA's records, West Virginia's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (8,453), winter storm records (7,140), floods and flash floods (4,166); the deadliest are floods and flash floods (85 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

West Virginia: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	8,453	3,617	19	175	$152M	55 of 55
Winter storms	7,140	3,001	10	31	$120M	55 of 55
Floods	4,166	2,031	85	12	$1.6B	55 of 55
Hail	3,144	607	1	3	$53M	55 of 55
Extreme cold	1,943	430	5	0	$24M	55 of 55
High wind and dust storms	1,815	837	3	12	$24M	55 of 55
Drought	922	421	0	0	$23M	55 of 55
Heat	904	85	1	6	–	42 of 55
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	576	231	0	0	–	25 of 55
Heavy rain	505	77	20	16	$1.6M	55 of 55
Tornadoes	191	38	3	122	$175M	48 of 55
Lightning	96	14	3	42	$7.9M	32 of 55
Wildfires	32	1	2	1	$101K	15 of 55
Landslides and avalanches	22	13	1	0	$1.5M	9 of 55
Rip currents and high surf	2	2	0	0	–	2 of 55

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in West Virginia?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

West Virginia: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2016-06-23	Flash FloodRainelle, Greenbrier County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. One of the worst flash floods in the history of West Virginia occurred on June 23, 2016 as extreme rainfall occurred across portions of Greenbrier and several adjacent counties. There were 15 fatalities in Greenbrier County and widespread catastrophic damage across much of the county. Summers and Monroe counties had ...		16	0	$50M
2025-06-14	Flash FloodRoneys Pt, Ohio County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's. On the evening of June 14th, a slow moving thunderstorm passed over portions of Ohio County just east of the city of Wheeling. It's slow movement and interaction with another storm allowed for very heavy rainfall in a short period of time. In addition, precipitable water values were very high - in the 90th percentile. ...		9	0	$2.5M
2016-06-23	Jackson County · FloodKing, Kanawha County One storm episode: 19 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Multiple rounds of convection resulted in wind damage and flooding. Flash flooding on small streams turned into river flooding. A historic and record setting flood occurred along portions of the Elk and Gauley Rivers in central West Virginia. Less significant flooding occurred on the perimeter of the hardest hit area. ...		7	2	$148M
2014-12-06	Heavy RainHemlock, Jackson County A SUV traveling northbound on Interstate 77 lost control on wet pavement and veered into the median. This occurred at mile marker 143 between Ripley and Ravenswood. The vehicle crashed through a cable median and into the southbound traffic. A pickup truck traveling south hit the broadside of the SUV causing it to ...		5	2	$37K
1996-02-08	Heavy Rain2ne Petroleum, Ritchie County A tragedy unfolded on a family farm along Goose Creek, thatdevastated a close-knit rural community. A 67 year oldgrandfather crossed his concrete low water bridge just aftersunset in a pickup truck. He was getting his 17 year oldgranddaughter from her home, so he could take her to his house on the other side of the ...		4	0	$9K
2012-06-29	Thunderstorm WindElkins, Randolph County One storm episode: 41 records in 34 places; the totals are the episode's. On the second day of a developing heat wave, under a sunny sky, afternoon temperatures reached record levels. The lowlands saw thermometers reach into the upper 90s and above 100 degrees. For example, both Huntington and Charleston had 103 degrees. Parkersburg and Clarksburg had 98 degrees. Even the mountainous ...	56 kt wind	3	0	$68M
2025-02-15	Flash FloodKeystone, McDowell County One storm episode: 73 records in 20 places, 2025-02-15 to 2025-02-17; the totals are the episode's. Light precipitation started to arrive on the evening of February 14th due to an approaching low pressure system, with more substantial rain spreading across the area overnight into the 15th as a warm front approached from the south. This promoted a brief instance of thunderstorms on the morning of February 15th, with ...		3	0	$15M
2000-02-18	Flash FloodSissonville, Kanawha County One storm episode: 14 records in 12 places, 2000-02-18 to 2000-02-19; the totals are the episode's. A warm front surged north during the morning of Friday the 18th, dropping a half inch to an inch of rain. Meanwhile, low pressure extended from southern Ohio on down the entire length of the Ohio River during that afternoon. A southerly wind at the surface, with dew points in the 55 to 60 degree range, fed moisture ...		3	0	$9.9M
1991-04-09	Thunderstorm WindKanawha County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (15, in 14 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.		2	86	–
1998-06-28	Flash FloodSissonville, Kanawha County One storm episode: 19 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. Three consecutive nights of thunderstorms left western and northern counties with wind damage and flooding. The first night was from Friday evening, the 26th, into early Saturday morning, the 27th. The convection on the second and third nights was further south than the first night, hitting the Parkersburg to ...		2	1	$33M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in West Virginia

West Virginia: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
2002-05-02	Flash FloodCountywide, McDowell County	2	$139M
2001-07-08	Flash FloodEast Portion, Wyoming County	1	$100M
2001-07-08	Flash FloodEast Portion, McDowell County	0	$83M
2001-07-08	Flash FloodWest Portion, Fayette County	0	$78M
2001-07-08	Flash FloodWest Portion, Raleigh County	0	$67M
2004-09-17	FloodOhio County · forecast zone Ohio	0	$62M
2004-09-17	FloodHancock County · forecast zone Hancock	0	$56M
2016-06-23	Flash FloodRainelle, Greenbrier County	16	$49M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 4, 1974 (tornado, Fayette County, 1 killed); June 3, 1980 (tornado, Preston County); April 4, 1974 (tornado, Raleigh County); April 4, 1974 (tornado, Wyoming County); April 4, 1974 (tornado, Greenbrier County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in West Virginia have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in West Virginia

Billion-dollar disasters in West Virginia

NOAA counted 47 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected West Virginia, led by severe storm (18). The most recent: Hurricane Helene (2024); Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather (2024); Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave (2024).

West Virginia: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	18	$1.0B-$2.0B
Winter Storm	12	$500M-$1.0B
Drought	7	$2.0B-$5.0B
Tropical Cyclone	6	$500M-$1.0B
Flooding	2	$2.0B-$5.0B
Freeze	2	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 47, newest first

Hurricane Helene2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Hurricane Ida2021
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Central/Southeast Tornado Outbreak2017
West Virginia Flooding and Ohio Valley Tornadoes2016
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Center Severe Weather2014
Hurricane Sandy2012
Plains/East/Northeast Derecho2012
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
Northeast Winter Storm2010
Southeast/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2009
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
Spring Freeze2007
Hurricane Ivan2004
Hurricane Isabel2003
Midwest/Plains Severe Weather2003
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Hurricane Fran1996
Blizzard/Floods1996
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Northeast Winter Storm1992
U.S. Drought1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave1988
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland Flooding1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for West Virginia, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in West Virginia

FEMA has made 85 declarations for West Virginia since 1954: 73 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are flood (36), severe storm (28), hurricane (5).

1950s 2
1960s 7
1970s 11
1980s 3
1990s 9
2000s 17
2010s 22
2020s 14

The 15 most recent declarations in West Virginia
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-08-03	DR-4932	Flood	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	4
2026-01-24	EM-3639	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	55
2025-07-22	DR-4884	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	2
2025-02-26	DR-4861	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	12
2024-12-09	DR-4851	Tropical Storm	Post-Tropical Storm Helene	1
2024-05-24	DR-4787	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	13
2024-05-22	DR-4783	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	15
2024-01-30	DR-4756	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	6
2022-11-28	DR-4679	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	1
2022-11-28	DR-4678	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	1
2021-05-20	DR-4605	Flood	Severe Storms and Flooding	7
2021-05-13	DR-4603	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storms	5
2020-04-03	DR-4517	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	55
2020-03-13	EM-3450	Biological	Covid-19	55
2019-08-02	DR-4455	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	5

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in West Virginia

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $378 million on 27,290 claims in 55 West Virginia counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across West Virginia's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates West Virginia's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 1
Relatively Moderate 1
Relatively Low 30
Very Low 23

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