West Virginia hail

Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 55 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,144 hail reports in West Virginia from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 91 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the April 9, 2021 hail in Grant County: 1 death. West Virginia ranks 32nd of 52 states and territories by count and 30th of 51 per square mile.

Hail in West Virginia, 1955 to 2026

Hail records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.

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
1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996

Records: 3,1441955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 91average
Deaths: 13 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $53Mas filed
Busiest year: 2011266 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 hail reports common in West Virginia?

West Virginia averages about 91 hail reports a year since 2000, 32nd of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (266). Per 10,000 square miles of land, West Virginia records 1308 hail reports since 1955, 30th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 hail reports?

Per square mile, Ohio County leads West Virginia: 27 days with a hail report since 1955, 255.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Kanawha County has the most hail records (207 since 1955); 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).

Ohio County 255.1 (37)
Jefferson County 219.8 (66)
Cabell County 202.8 (90)
Wood County 174.6 (111)
Berkeley County 171.3 (94)
Putnam County 162.0 (98)
Monongalia County 138.9 (82)
Harrison County 129.8 (81)
Mercer County 128.9 (87)
Mingo County 122.9 (78)
Taylor County 121.5 (34)
Raleigh County 114.1 (120)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is hail season in West Virginia?

47% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in May and June. The busiest month is June (790 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 14 · Feb 37 · Mar 201 · Apr 596 · May 680 · Jun 790 · Jul 417 · Aug 207 · Sep 153 · Oct 38 · Nov 9 · Dec 2 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.

What were the deadliest hail reports in West Virginia?

West Virginia: the storms with the most deaths since 1955
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2021-04-09	HailPetersburg, Grant County Golf ball size hail was reported at Petersburg High School. Slippery, hail-covered roads caused a traffic crash that resulted in a fatality in the 2000 block of WV-55 North Fork Highway.	1.75 in hail	1	0	–

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 hail reports in West Virginia

West Virginia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Damage
1998-06-02	HailCharleston, Kanawha County One storm episode: 3 records; the totals are the episode's.	2.00 in hail	$16M
2006-08-30	HailCharleston, Kanawha County	2.50 in hail	$8.8M
2016-04-28	HailPrunytown, Taylor County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	2.75 in hail	$5.1M
1998-06-16	HailGassaway, Braxton County One storm episode: 6 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	$4.5M
1999-04-23	HailPhilippi, Barbour County	1.50 in hail	$3.5M
1994-09-25	HailParkersburg, Wood County Every hail record filed in the state that day (3, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	1.00 in hail	$3.0M
2002-04-28	HailBeckley, Raleigh County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	1.75 in hail	$1.2M
2006-07-18	HailBerkeley Spgs, Morgan County	2.50 in hail	$1.1M

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

Are hail reports 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.

Hail: West Virginia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	West Virginia	United States	West Virginia's share
1955-59	5	2,477	0.20%
1960s	37	7,651	0.48%
1970s	37	11,007	0.34%
1980s	138	26,555	0.52%
1990s	528	75,581	0.70%
2000s	1,019	137,396	0.74%
2010s	968	107,281	0.90%
2020-26	412	56,491	0.73%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hail reports in West Virginia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-06-12	HailMt Nebo, Nicholas County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-06-12	HailGolden, Greenbrier County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailChapmanville, Logan County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailQueen Shoals, Clay County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailClendenin, Kanawha County	1.75 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailSissonville, Kanawha County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailPocatalico, Kanawha County	1.25 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailRaymond City, Putnam County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-20	HailPoca, Putnam County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-18	HailMc Cauley, Hardy County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-13	HailUffingtown, Monongalia County	1.00 in hail	–
2026-05-13	HailLittle Falls, Monongalia County	1.00 in hail	–

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.

Federal disaster declarations for hail reports in West Virginia

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 28 declarations in West Virginia, 27 of them major disasters; the latest on February 26, 2025.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2025-02-26	DR-4861	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	12
2024-05-22	DR-4783	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	15
2022-11-28	DR-4679	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	1
2018-07-12	DR-4378	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	7
2017-08-18	DR-4331	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	12
2015-08-07	DR-4236	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	9
2015-05-14	DR-4219	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	6
2015-03-31	DR-4210	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides	32
2012-07-23	DR-4071	Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds	47
2012-06-30	EM-3345	Severe Storms	55
2012-03-22	DR-4061	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, and Lanslides	3
2012-03-16	DR-4059	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Flooding, Mudslides, and Landslides	11

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