States › West Virginia › Raleigh County

Raleigh 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 54081 · 73,771 residents (2021) · 605 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 120Tornado · 7Flood · 80Wind · 208Winter · 82

Raleigh 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.

Raleigh County, West Virginia, has 583 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 96.3 events per 100 square miles, below the West Virginia figure of 124.4, and 79.0 per 10,000 residents against 167.7 statewide.

29 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 6 deaths and 45 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $69M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 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 479 claims since 1978, of which 392 were paid, totalling $4.5M (about $12K per paid claim). FEMA counts 106 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" ($20M a year across 18 hazards).

5 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.

29events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

583events since 19506 deaths, 45 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

479NFIP flood claims$4.5M paid

Compared with West Virginia and the United States

Measure	Raleigh County	West Virginia	US
Recorded events since 1950	583	29,901	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	96.3	124.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	79.0	167.7	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	29	1,790	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	6	153	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$69M	$1.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	6.5	15.7	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$12K	$16K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	19.8	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: 3Tornado: 2Wind: 3

Hail: 3Tornado: 2Wind: 4

Hail: 9Tornado: 1Wind: 9

Hail: 19Flood: 4Wind: 17Winter: 17Heat: 12Cold: 13Drought: 7Wildfire: 1Other: 1

Hail: 45Flood: 21Wind: 48Winter: 31Heat: 10Cold: 11Drought: 6Wildfire: 2Lightning: 2Other: 9

Hail: 31Tornado: 1Flood: 16Wind: 50Winter: 34Cold: 5Lightning: 5Other: 2

Hail: 10Flood: 39Wind: 77

11950s81960s91970s191980s911990s1852000s1442010s1262020s

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

Trend: 303 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 217 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

Wind208

Hail120

Winter82

Flood80

Cold29

Heat22

Drought13

Other12

Tornado7

Lightning7

Wildfire3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	208	—	2.0%	detail
■ Hail	120	—	3.8%	detail
■ Winter	82	2	1.1%	detail
■ Flood	80	4	1.9%	detail
■ Cold	29	—	1.5%
■ Heat	22	—	2.4%
■ Drought	13	—	1.4%
■ Other	12	—	2.2%
■ Tornado	7	—	3.7%
■ Lightning	7	—	7.3%
■ Wildfire	3	—	9.4%

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
27 Jan 1998	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$5.0M	—	2	—	Forecast zone
13 Mar 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$4.0M	—	2	—	County
1 Jun 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	2	—	County
4 Apr 1974	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	12	County
19 Apr 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	12	County
11 Aug 2001	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	9	County
3 Feb 1998	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$3.5M	—	—	4	Forecast zone
8 Jul 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$40M	—	—	—	County
17 May 2001	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	2	County
28 Feb 2017	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	2	County
5 Jul 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$30K	—	—	1	County
14 Mar 1967	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	1	County
2 May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$20K	—	—	1	County
26 May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$3K	—	—	1	County
29 Jun 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	64 mph	$3.5M	—	—	—	County
9 May 2009	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	County
19 Nov 2003	Flood	Flood	—	$800K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Oct 2012	Blizzard	Winter	—	$750K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
28 Apr 2002	Hail	Hail	1.75 in	$700K	—	—	—	County
18 Dec 2009	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$700K	—	—	—	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	Individual assistance, 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
31 Mar 2015	DR-4210	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
27 Nov 2012	DR-4093	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	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
15 May 2009	DR-1838	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, Mudslides, And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
5 Sep 2005	EM-3221	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
7 Jun 2004	DR-1522	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Landslides	Individual assistance, 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
5 May 2002	DR-1410	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Landslides	Individual assistance
16 Nov 2001	FM-2391	Fire management assistance	Fire	Wv - Southeast Fire Complex - 11/16/2001	Public assistance
3 Jun 2001	DR-1378	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 May 1996	DR-1115	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding, Heavy Winds	Individual assistance, Public assistance
25 Jan 1996	DR-1096	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual 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
15 Aug 1980	DR-628	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual 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
27 Feb 1972	DR-323	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & 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 Raleigh County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978479

Paid claims392

Total paid$4.5M

Average paid claim$12K

Repetitive-loss properties474 severe

Residential policies in force1060.4% of 30,660 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	5	2	$7,310	$3,655
2025	9	9	$227,088	$25,232
2024	1	0	$0	—
2020	1	0	$0	—
2019	2	2	$46,543	$23,272
2017	3	2	$7,345	$3,672
2016	5	2	$44,023	$22,012
2015	8	6	$27,189	$4,531
2013	12	8	$241,477	$30,185
2010	73	64	$1,487,183	$23,237
2009	14	11	$102,116	$9,283
2008	3	3	$3,905	$1,302
2007	1	0	$0	—
2006	1	0	$0	—
2005	2	2	$3,084	$1,542
2004	37	33	$273,229	$8,280
2003	51	38	$304,437	$8,011
2002	8	6	$12,904	$2,151
2001	105	89	$963,333	$10,824
2000	1	0	$0	—
1997	5	5	$34,341	$6,868
1996	26	24	$390,116	$16,255
1994	1	0	$0	—
1993	1	1	$3,036	$3,036
1992	1	0	$0	—

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 65.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$20MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively High

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$16,486,472
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$759,696
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$649,121
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$584,853
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$539,587
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$210,524
Hail	Relatively Low	$171,940
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	$160,532
Tornado	Very Low	$122,442
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$121,758
Hurricane	Very Low	$77,257
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$61,105
Heat wave	Very Low	$23,979
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$12,551
Drought	Very Low	$2,219

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 miles5

Tracks within 50 miles1

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Hugo	1989	59 mi	46 mph
David	1979	97 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	52 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1932	43 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	69 mi	40 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

25801 74
25871 51
25813 43
25209 41
25839 39
25827 31
25921 22
25915 19
25844 16
25823 14
25060 13
25048 10
25811 10
25911 9
25007 8
25174 8
25832 8
25865 7
25918 7
25853 6
25008 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 Raleigh County, WV?

NCEI records 120 hail events in Raleigh County since 1950, in 35 different years; that is about 1.6 recorded events a year. 14 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Raleigh County had a tornado?

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

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Raleigh County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

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

479 NFIP claims since 1978, 392 of them paid, for $4.5M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

96.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 124.4 statewide, and 6.5 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.