West Virginia winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 55 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 7,140 winter storm records in West Virginia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 238 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 27, 1998 heavy snow: 2 deaths, 1 injury and $20.6 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 7 records. West Virginia ranks 18th of 51 states and territories by count and 8th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in West Virginia, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 7,1401996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 238average
- Deaths
- 1031 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $120Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2025597 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 winter storm records common in West Virginia?
West Virginia averages about 238 winter storm records a year since 2000, 18th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2025 (597). Per 10,000 square miles of land, West Virginia records 2970 winter storm records since 1996, 8th 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Jefferson County leads West Virginia: 191 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 912.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Grant County has the most winter storm records (553 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).
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 winter storm season in West Virginia?
61% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (2,392 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2,392 · Feb 1,933 · Mar 901 · Apr 125 · May 12 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 2 · Oct 97 · Nov 256 · Dec 1,422 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in West Virginia?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-01-27 | Heavy SnowRaleigh County · forecast zone Raleigh One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A surprise heavy wet snow fell over these mountainous counties. Since the environment was near the freezing mark, through a deep layer, a wide variation in snow depth was observed. The variation was based on elevation. Elevations above 2000 feet were impacted the most. At these elevations of Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, ... | 2 | 1 | $21M | |
| 2012-10-29 | Heavy SnowBarbour County · forecast zone Barbour One storm episode: 19 records in 19 places; the totals are the episode's. A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. Periods of rain fell for 2 days from the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east. In response to the colder air associated with the ... | 2 | 0 | $39M | |
| 2006-10-24 | Winter WeatherMercer County · forecast zone Mercer Early morning snow showers resulted in icy elevated surfaces. | 1 | 5 | $88K | |
| 1998-01-27 | Heavy SnowMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe Heavy snow developed during the morning hours on the 27th and continued until the morning hours on the 28th. Snowfall amounts were mainly from 20 to 40 inches with maximum snow depths mainly from 12 to 25 inches. Between 10 AM on the 27th and 10 AM on the 28th, Flat Top in Mercer County recorded 35 inches of snow. ... | 1 | 1 | $54K | |
| 2014-12-13 | Winter WeatherPutnam County · forecast zone Putnam A woman lost control of her car on slippery Midday Hollow Road, between Eleanor and Buffalo around 0900E. Her vehicle went down an embankment and struck a tree. She was pronounced dead on the scene. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2012-10-29 | BlizzardTucker County · forecast zone Tucker The remnants of Sandy brought a variety of weather impacts to western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland as the storm made landfall and interacted with a cold front essentially right over the region. Heavy rain and strong winds combined to cause downed trees and power-lines ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-01-08 | Ice StormCabell County · forecast zone Cabell Rains of 0.5 to 0.8 inches fell with surface temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees. A quarter to a half inch of ice accumulated. Roads were not as icy as sidewalks, since most roads were previously treated. Ice accumulated the most on vehicles and trees. A 40 year old female was killed in Huntington around 0830E when a ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2016-01-22 | Heavy SnowHarrison County · forecast zone Harrison A major storm spread snow north during Friday morning the 22nd, reaching the Route 50 corridor around noon. The initial warm air advection snow was heavy at times, with snow rates of 2 inches per hour. The snow mixed with sleet at times over the southern mountains and southern coal fields during the day on the 22nd. A ... | 1 | 0 | $61K |
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 winter storm records in West Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-10-29 | Heavy SnowBarbour County · forecast zone Barbour One storm episode: 19 records in 19 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $39M | |
| 1998-01-27 | Heavy SnowRaleigh County · forecast zone Raleigh One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 1 | $21M | |
| 2003-02-16 | Ice StormJackson County · forecast zone Jackson One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $15M | |
| 2003-02-14 | Winter StormPendleton County · forecast zone Pendleton One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $12M | |
| 1998-02-03 | Winter StormRaleigh County · forecast zone Raleigh One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 4 | $9.9M | |
| 2009-12-18 | Heavy SnowFayette County · forecast zone Fayette One storm episode: 11 records in 11 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $6.7M | |
| 1998-02-06 | Heavy SnowMercer County · forecast zone Mercer One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $3.1M | |
| 2003-02-16 | Winter StormKanawha County · forecast zone Kanawha | 0 | 0 | $2.9M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm 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.
| Decade | West Virginia | United States | West Virginia's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 688 | 32,893 | 2.1% |
| 2000s | 1,531 | 88,805 | 1.7% |
| 2010s | 2,593 | 103,626 | 2.5% |
| 2020-26 | 2,328 | 62,015 | 3.8% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in West Virginia
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-17 | Winter StormTucker County · forecast zone Western Tucker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter StormTucker County · forecast zone Eastern Tucker | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherPreston County · forecast zone Preston | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter StormMonongalia County · forecast zone Monongalia | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowClay County · forecast zone Clay | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowCalhoun County · forecast zone Calhoun | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowUpshur County · forecast zone Upshur | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowRoane County · forecast zone Roane | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowRitchie County · forecast zone Ritchie | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowWebster County · forecast zone Northwest Webster | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowRandolph County · forecast zone Northwest Randolph | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Heavy SnowNicholas County · forecast zone Northwest Nicholas | 0 | 0 | – |
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 winter storm records in West Virginia
FEMA has declared 8 disasters in West Virginia for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 6 were major disasters, the latest on January 24, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-24 | EM-3639 | Severe Winter Storm | 55 |
| 2021-05-13 | DR-4603 | Severe Winter Storms | 5 |
| 2015-03-31 | DR-4210 | Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides | 32 |
| 2010-04-23 | DR-1903 | Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms | 20 |
| 2010-03-02 | DR-1881 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 18 |
| 2003-03-14 | DR-1455 | Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding and Landslides | 49 |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1084 | Blizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm) | 55 |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3109 | Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm | 55 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Jefferson County: the county's whole recordThe West Virginia county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in West VirginiaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in West Virginia8,453 records
- Floods in West Virginia4,166 records
- Hail in West Virginia3,144 records