States › West Virginia › Greenbrier County

Greenbrier 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 54025 · 32,608 residents (2021) · 1,020 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 97Tornado · 7Flood · 132Wind · 248Winter · 89

Greenbrier 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 613 events for Greenbrier County, West Virginia, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 60.1 events per 100 square miles, below the West Virginia figure of 124.4, and 188.0 per 10,000 residents against 167.7 statewide.

15 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 18 deaths and 8 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $54M and crop damage at $175K.

FEMA has designated the county in 27 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 943 claims since 1978, of which 815 were paid, totalling $26M (about $32K per paid claim). FEMA counts 256 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" ($25M a year across 18 hazards).

10 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.

15events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

613events since 195018 deaths, 8 injuries recorded

27disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

943NFIP flood claims$26M paid

Compared with West Virginia and the United States

Measure	Greenbrier County	West Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	613	29,901	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	60.1	124.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	188.0	167.7	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	15	1,790	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	18	153	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$54M	$1.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	28.9	15.7	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$32K	$16K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	2.7	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

Wind: 1

Tornado: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 1Tornado: 3

Hail: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 11Tornado: 1Flood: 12Wind: 17Winter: 19Cold: 2Drought: 6

Hail: 50Flood: 22Wind: 52Winter: 36Cold: 1Other: 2

Hail: 21Tornado: 1Flood: 40Wind: 89Winter: 34Cold: 1Lightning: 3Other: 7

Hail: 12Flood: 58Wind: 86Other: 18

11950s31960s41970s41980s681990s1632000s1962010s1742020s

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

Trend: 459 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 132 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

Wind248

Flood132

Hail97

Winter89

Other27

Tornado7

Drought6

Cold4

Lightning3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	248	1	2.4%	detail
■ Flood	132	16	3.2%	detail
■ Hail	97	—	3.1%	detail
■ Winter	89	—	1.2%	detail
■ Other	27	1	4.9%
■ Tornado	7	—	3.7%
■ Drought	6	—	0.7%
■ Cold	4	—	0.2%
■ Lightning	3	—	3.1%

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
23 Jun 2016	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$40M	—	16	—	County
10 Mar 2015	Debris Flow	Other	—	$5K	—	1	—	County
25 Apr 1989	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	75 mph	—	—	1	—	County
4 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	3	County
14 Apr 2007	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$10K	—	—	3	County
9 May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	92 mph	$500K	—	—	1	County
29 Feb 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$15K	—	—	1	County
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$4.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
19 Nov 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
13 Mar 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	—	—	County
19 Jun 2020	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$900K	—	—	—	County
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	87 mph	$750K	—	—	—	County
19 Jan 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$400K	—	—	—	County
6 Feb 1998	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$400K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
8 Jun 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$255K	—	—	—	County
21 Mar 1962	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
22 Jun 1990	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
16 May 2010	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
16 Jun 1998	Hail	Hail	3.00 in	$100K	—	—	—	County
1 Oct 1998	Drought	Drought	—	—	$100K	—	—	Forecast zone

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
26 Feb 2025	DR-4861	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	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
25 Jun 2016	DR-4273	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 May 2015	DR-4221	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	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	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Jun 2012	EM-3345	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms	Public assistance
29 Mar 2010	DR-1893	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
2 Mar 2010	DR-1881	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3221	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
21 Nov 2003	DR-1500	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2003	DR-1455	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Record/Near Record Snow, Heavy Rains, Flooding And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Jun 2001	DR-1378	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Landslides	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
24 Aug 1977	EM-3051	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
7 Apr 1977	DR-531	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
19 Jan 1977	EM-3021	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
11 Apr 1974	DR-426	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance
3 Jul 1972	DR-344	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
24 Sep 1969	DR-279	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
3 Sep 1969	DR-278	Major disaster	Hurricane	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 1967	DR-224	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	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 Greenbrier County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978943

Paid claims815

Total paid$26M

Average paid claim$32K

Repetitive-loss properties422 severe

Residential policies in force2561.4% of 18,822 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$18,552	$18,552
2021	1	1	$23,460	$23,460
2020	2	1	$13,449	$13,449
2019	2	0	$0	—
2017	1	0	$0	—
2016	351	301	$14,670,878	$48,740
2015	4	2	$4,800	$2,400
2013	1	0	$0	—
2010	87	65	$995,600	$15,317
2009	3	2	$2,073	$1,037
2007	1	1	$5,466	$5,466
2004	1	0	$0	—
2003	122	107	$1,703,634	$15,922
2002	5	3	$11,325	$3,775
2001	22	16	$204,186	$12,762
1999	1	0	$0	—
1998	2	1	$568	$568
1996	244	229	$6,738,343	$29,425
1995	1	1	$17,236	$17,236
1994	3	3	$2,141	$714
1989	1	0	$0	—
1985	70	67	$1,286,792	$19,206
1984	2	1	$5,157	$5,157
1979	2	2	$508	$254
1978	13	11	$12,066	$1,097

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 75.8 of 100

Expected annual loss$25MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery High

Community resilienceRelatively Moderate

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$18,191,433
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$4,680,093
Landslide	Relatively High	$979,293
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$536,889
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$277,260
Earthquake	Very Low	$273,527
Hail	Relatively Low	$163,619
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$119,918
Tornado	Very Low	$77,738
Hurricane	Very Low	$75,607
Wildfire	Very Low	$52,204
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$25,522
Drought	Very Low	$11,101
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$2,968
Heat wave	Very Low	$0

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 miles10

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isabel	2003	96 mi	58 mph
Hugo	1989	83 mi	46 mph
David	1979	57 mi	46 mph
Diane	1955	90 mi	52 mph
Able	1952	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	36 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	86 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	82 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	91 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	94 mi	58 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

24910 275
24970 245
25962 189
24986 126
25984 45
24925 44
25958 32
24936 22
25967 17
24901 16
24938 15
24966 14

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 Greenbrier County, WV?

NCEI records 97 hail events in Greenbrier County since 1950, in 27 different years; that is about 1.3 recorded events a year. 11 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Greenbrier County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 7 tornadoes in Greenbrier County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Greenbrier County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 27 declarations since 1953.

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

943 NFIP claims since 1978, 815 of them paid, for $26M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Greenbrier 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 High" for social vulnerability and "Relatively Moderate" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

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

60.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 124.4 statewide, and 28.9 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.