States › West Virginia › Berkeley County

Berkeley County, West Virginia

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 54003 · 126,069 residents (2021) · 321 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 94Tornado · 14Flood · 125Wind · 303Winter · 207

Berkeley County within West Virginia. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 954 events for Berkeley County, West Virginia, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 297.1 events per 100 square miles, above the West Virginia figure of 124.4, and 75.7 per 10,000 residents against 167.7 statewide.

27 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 0 deaths and 10 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $2.9M and crop damage at $6.4M.

FEMA has designated the county in 18 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 312 claims since 1978, of which 272 were paid, totalling $4.9M (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 150 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($35M a year across 18 hazards).

24 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

27events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

954events since 19500 deaths, 10 injuries recorded

18disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

312NFIP flood claims$4.9M paid

Compared with West Virginia and the United States

Measure	Berkeley County	West Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	954	29,901	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	297.1	124.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	75.7	167.7	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	27	1,790	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	0	153	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$2.9M	$1.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.5	15.7	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$16K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	20.0	23.2	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1

Hail: 3Wind: 7

Tornado: 2Wind: 5

Hail: 1Wind: 2

Hail: 16Tornado: 4Flood: 8Wind: 32Winter: 19Heat: 6Cold: 2Drought: 11Lightning: 3

Hail: 19Tornado: 2Flood: 23Wind: 74Winter: 60Heat: 14Cold: 22Drought: 2Lightning: 2Fog: 13Other: 10

Hail: 40Tornado: 2Flood: 79Wind: 97Winter: 88Heat: 14Cold: 23Fog: 57

Hail: 15Tornado: 3Flood: 15Wind: 86Winter: 40Heat: 7Cold: 10Fog: 15

11950s101960s71970s31980s1011990s2412000s4002010s1912020s

Recorded events in Berkeley County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 662 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 257 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind303

Winter207

Flood125

Hail94

Fog85

Cold57

Heat41

Tornado14

Drought13

Other10

Lightning5

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	303	—	3.0%	detail
■ Winter	207	—	2.9%	detail
■ Flood	125	—	3.0%	detail
■ Hail	94	—	3.0%	detail
■ Fog	85	—	15.6%
■ Cold	57	—	2.9%
■ Heat	41	—	4.5%
■ Tornado	14	—	7.3%	detail
■ Drought	13	—	1.4%
■ Other	10	—	1.8%
■ Lightning	5	—	5.2%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
17 Sep 2004	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	6	County
4 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	3	Forecast zone
2 Oct 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
10 Apr 1997	Frost/Freeze	Cold	—	—	$4.0M	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Jul 1997	Drought	Drought	—	—	$2.1M	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Aug 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$500K	—	—	—	County
6 Sep 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	$50K	—	—	County
18 Sep 2003	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	$100K	—	—	Forecast zone
16 Jun 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$100K	—	—	—	County
14 Jan 2006	High Wind	Wind	58 mph	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
5 Jun 2024	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Jan 2026	EM-3639	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
3 Apr 2020	DR-4517	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3450	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
29 Oct 2012	EM-3358	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
23 Jul 2012	DR-4071	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	Public assistance
30 Jun 2012	EM-3345	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms	Public assistance
23 Apr 2010	DR-1903	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3221	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
20 Sep 2004	DR-1558	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Sep 2003	DR-1496	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isabel	Public assistance
21 Jun 2003	DR-1474	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance
14 Mar 2003	DR-1455	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding And Landslides	Public assistance
11 Sep 1996	DR-1137	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Hurricane Fran And Associated Heavy Rains,Flooding Highwind	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Jan 1996	DR-1096	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1084	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
17 Mar 1993	EM-3109	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
7 Nov 1985	DR-753	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jul 1972	DR-344	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Berkeley County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978312

Paid claims272

Total paid$4.9M

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties6316 severe

Residential policies in force1500.3% of 46,176 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	2	0	$0	—
2025	6	5	$219,950	$43,990
2024	3	2	$39,529	$19,764
2023	1	0	$0	—
2019	2	2	$27,380	$13,690
2018	16	14	$572,111	$40,865
2014	3	1	$2,317	$2,317
2013	1	1	$8,937	$8,937
2012	1	0	$0	—
2011	3	3	$13,256	$4,419
2010	15	11	$217,322	$19,757
2008	3	3	$79,325	$26,442
2004	4	4	$18,501	$4,625
2003	15	11	$127,655	$11,605
2002	2	1	$41,791	$41,791
1999	1	1	$631	$631
1998	1	0	$0	—
1996	154	145	$2,672,450	$18,431
1993	4	2	$22,125	$11,063
1990	1	1	$20,000	$20,000
1985	35	35	$661,149	$18,890
1984	19	14	$80,602	$5,757
1983	1	0	$0	—
1982	1	1	$3,488	$3,488
1979	7	6	$12,457	$2,076

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 68.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$35MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$25,150,694
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$2,602,369
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,101,881
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$1,286,395
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,236,249
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$825,059
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$626,948
Hail	Relatively Low	$557,897
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$398,909
Cold wave	Very Low	$195,274
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$171,350
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$47,533
Wildfire	Very Low	$20,451
Landslide	Relatively Low	$13,083
Avalanche	Very Low	$30

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles24

Tracks within 50 miles8

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Sandy	2012	47 mi	58 mph
Ernesto	2006	78 mi	46 mph
Isabel	2003	75 mi	58 mph
David	1979	30 mi	46 mph
Connie	1955	80 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	45 mi	46 mph
Hazel	1954	68 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	50 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	59 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	97 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	37 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	68 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	97 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	18 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	55 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	25 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	73 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	52 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	38 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	31 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	79 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	54 mi	92 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	93 mi	69 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

25401 124
25419 104
25427 52
25404 17
25428 8
25405 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Berkeley County, WV?

NCEI records 94 hail events in Berkeley County since 1950, in 32 different years; that is about 1.2 recorded events a year. 9 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Berkeley County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 14 tornadoes in Berkeley County since 1950, 1 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Berkeley County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 18 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Berkeley County, and how much was paid?

312 NFIP claims since 1978, 272 of them paid, for $4.9M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Berkeley County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Berkeley County compare with the rest of West Virginia?

297.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 124.4 statewide, and 2.5 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 15.7. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.