West Virginia extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 55 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,943 extreme cold records in West Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 55 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 18, 2015 extreme cold/wind chill in Logan County: 2 deaths and $311,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 2 records. West Virginia ranks 10th of 51 states and territories by count and 3rd of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in West Virginia, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

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

Records: 1,9431996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 55average
Deaths: 50 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $24Mas filed
Busiest year: 1997246 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in West Virginia?

West Virginia averages about 55 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 10th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1997 (246). Per 10,000 square miles of land, West Virginia records 808 extreme cold records since 1996, 3rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in West Virginia have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Mineral County leads West Virginia: 91 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 277.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pendleton County has the most cold records (167 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

Mineral County 277.5 (132)
Jefferson County 262.8 (56)
Pleasants County 245.9 (32)
Grant County 230.4 (155)
Morgan County 205.2 (47)
Taylor County 191.0 (33)
Berkeley County 174.4 (57)
Pendleton County 149.4 (167)
Wirt County 137.6 (32)
Tyler County 124.9 (32)
Barbour County 111.4 (59)
Calhoun County 111.0 (31)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in West Virginia?

West Virginia's extreme cold records by month. The busiest month is January (489 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 489 · Feb 232 · Mar 202 · Apr 239 · May 261 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 43 · Oct 268 · Nov 85 · Dec 124 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in West Virginia?

West Virginia: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
2015-02-18	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLogan County · forecast zone Logan One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. In less than a week, a second arctic front swept through West Virginia during the early afternoon hours of the 18th. Snow showers formed ahead of the front. Bands of snow showers lingered into the evening over the central mountains and southern lowland counties as temperatures dropped into the single digits before ...	2	$311K
2014-01-21	Cold/Wind ChillNicholas County · forecast zone Nicholas As colder air was filtering south, a strong mid level disturbance moved up the Ohio River. Only a weak low pressure system was reflected at the surface, which passed to the south. Snow developed in the southwestern Ohio by 0000E on the 21st. The snow moved east, into West Virginia during the predawn. The steadiest ...	1	$10K
2017-12-30	Cold/Wind ChillKanawha County · forecast zone Kanawha Following several strong cold fronts in the last week of December, a period of very cold temperatures settled into the Central Appalachians. Afternoon highs across the region topped out in the teens and twenties on most days, with overnight lows in the single digits above and below zero. A 52-year old homeless man was ...	1	–
2005-01-23	Cold/Wind ChillMcDowell County · forecast zone McDowell An 84 year old woman, living alone in a house in Capels, died from exposure to the cold. A local minister had checked on her during Sunday afternoon the 23rd. Her house was warm at that time. Sometime afterwards, late on Sunday or during Monday, her furnace stopped working. She died sometime Monday afternoon or night, ...	1	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in West Virginia

West Virginia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Killed	Damage
1997-04-10	Frost/FreezeBerkeley County · forecast zone Berkeley One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$15M
2022-12-23	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillRaleigh County · forecast zone Southeast Raleigh One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$2.5M
2014-01-06	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCabell County · forecast zone Cabell One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$1.2M
2022-12-23	Cold/Wind ChillOhio County · forecast zone Ohio	0	$504K
2015-02-18	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLogan County · forecast zone Logan One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	2	$311K
2014-01-21	Cold/Wind ChillNicholas County · forecast zone Nicholas	1	$10K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in West Virginia?

West Virginia's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: West Virginia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	West Virginia	United States	West Virginia's share
1996-99	436	5,539	7.9%
2000s	582	14,792	3.9%
2010s	620	18,162	3.4%
2020-26	305	15,329	2.0%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in West Virginia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHampshire County · forecast zone Hampshire	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHardy County · forecast zone Hardy	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMorgan County · forecast zone Morgan	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillBerkeley County · forecast zone Berkeley	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPendleton County · forecast zone Eastern Pendleton	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMineral County · forecast zone Eastern Mineral	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGrant County · forecast zone Eastern Grant	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPendleton County · forecast zone Western Pendleton	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMineral County · forecast zone Western Mineral	–
2026-02-07	Extreme Cold/Wind ChillGrant County · forecast zone Western Grant	–
2026-02-01	Cold/Wind ChillWyoming County · forecast zone Wyoming	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.