County Hazards

States › West Virginia

West Virginia

The recorded hazard history of every county in West Virginia: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

West Virginia has 29,901 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 55 counties, led by damaging wind: 124.4 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 153 deaths and 425 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $1.3B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Jefferson, Hancock and Ohio.

FEMA lists 85 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides (3 Aug 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 27,998 flood claims since 1978, $387M paid; 7,746 residential policies are in force.

1,790events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
29,901events since 1950124.4 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)
85disaster declarations since 1953last 3 Aug 2026
27,998NFIP flood claims$387M paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

MeasureWest VirginiaUS
Recorded events since 195029,9011,977,440
Events per 100 square miles124.456.0
Events per 10,000 residents167.759.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI15326,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$1.3B$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents15.78.1
Average paid NFIP claim$16K$43K
Residential flood policies in force7,7463,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind10,267
Winter7,140
Flood4,166
Hail3,144
Cold1,943
Drought922
Heat904
Other550
Fog546
Tornado191
Lightning96
Wildfire32
HazardEventsShare of USDeaths
■ Wind10,2671.5%22
■ Winter7,1402.5%10
■ Flood4,1662.3%85
■ Hail3,1440.7%1
■ Cold1,9433.6%5
■ Drought9221.1%—
■ Heat9041.6%1
■ Other5501.2%21
■ Fog5463.0%—
■ Tornado1910.2%3
■ Lightning960.5%3
■ Wildfire320.3%2

Events by decade

Hail: 5Tornado: 8Wind: 24
Hail: 37Tornado: 20Wind: 76
Hail: 37Tornado: 30Wind: 95
Hail: 138Tornado: 19Wind: 261
Hail: 528Tornado: 31Flood: 483Wind: 1231Winter: 688Heat: 313Cold: 436Drought: 342Wildfire: 12Lightning: 25Other: 107
Hail: 1019Tornado: 16Flood: 1022Wind: 2176Winter: 1531Heat: 423Cold: 582Drought: 159Wildfire: 15Lightning: 25Fog: 82Other: 303
Hail: 968Tornado: 36Flood: 1199Wind: 2808Winter: 2593Heat: 132Cold: 620Drought: 4Wildfire: 4Lightning: 39Fog: 356Other: 79
Hail: 412Tornado: 31Flood: 1462Wind: 3596Winter: 2328Heat: 36Cold: 305Drought: 417Wildfire: 1Lightning: 7Fog: 108Other: 61
371950s1331960s1621970s4181980s4,1961990s7,3532000s8,8382010s8,7642020s
Recorded events in West Virginia by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

CountyEventsLast 12 moPer 100 sq miPer 10k residentsDominantTornadoesHailDeclarationsNFIP claimsNRI risk
Jefferson County81925391.3140.3Wind76619143Relatively Low
Hancock County3115376.5108.5Wind14418365Very Low
Ohio County3787357.290.5Wind237233,123Relatively Low
Brooke County2919326.2131.4Wind02118488Relatively Low
Berkeley County95427297.175.7Wind149418312Relatively Low
Morgan County62614273.3363.5Winter23017204Very Low
Taylor County39232226.9237.7Wind3342050Very Low
Cabell County57832205.761.9Wind49032807Relatively Moderate
Putnam County67135194.1117.2Wind89824290Relatively Low
Pleasants County25018192.1328.9Wind2161643Very Low
Wood County62858171.475.1Wind1011118947Relatively Low
Monongalia County59554165.255.9Wind88221361Relatively Low
Harrison County68359164.2104.8Wind68124786Relatively Low
Upshur County56149158.2235.8Wind15222417Relatively Low
Marion County47026152.283.9Wind84422371Relatively Low
Tyler County37420145.9458.6Wind1302559Very Low
Kanawha County1,23260136.669.2Wind15207342,479Relatively High
Barbour County45642133.7294.8Wind33820377Very Low
Marshall County38910127.4129.2Wind34325541Relatively Low
Mercer County51413122.787.0Wind28727437Relatively Low
Wirt County27121116.6535.3Wind1162167Very Low
Hampshire County73216114.3314.1Wind44819261Very Low
Lewis County43843113.2259.3Wind36225333Relatively Low
Wayne County56839112.3147.5Wind67433469Relatively Low
Calhoun County31026111.0501.9Wind03424264Very Low
Preston County71722110.5208.7Wind13812499Very Low
Mason County47125109.3187.2Wind36621140Relatively Low
Lincoln County47425108.4235.5Wind65339344Relatively Low
Hardy County62718107.7442.8Winter02522188Very Low
Mingo County45337107.1196.9Wind178361,679Relatively Low
Mineral County3498106.4129.9Wind22519192Relatively Low
Jackson County48839105.1175.9Wind37725311Relatively Low
Doddridge County33223103.8429.2Wind2262452Very Low
Gilmer County35027103.4474.4Wind13325455Very Low
Clay County35325103.2447.3Wind0302676Very Low
Logan County46854103.1146.7Wind068362,149Relatively Low
Boone County50948101.5238.8Wind05631477Relatively Low
Raleigh County5832996.379.0Wind712029479Relatively Low
Ritchie County4163292.0496.2Wind1342165Very Low
Roane County4313689.1310.1Wind14126189Relatively Low
McDowell County4733288.7257.6Wind267271,050Relatively Low
Tucker County362386.4542.6Winter33424369Very Low
Wyoming County4232384.7200.9Wind19030923Relatively Low
Braxton County4153381.3338.9Wind1522440Very Low
Wetzel County2911081.3205.4Wind13427498Relatively Low
Summers County291780.7244.4Wind24624312Very Low
Webster County411374.3498.2Winter04423199Very Low
Grant County353273.9321.4Wind22021155Very Low
Fayette County4671270.6117.0Wind57825298Relatively Low
Nicholas County397961.4163.4Wind46626216Relatively Low
Greenbrier County6131560.1188.0Wind79727943Relatively Low
Monroe County271457.3219.8Wind2411989Very Low
Randolph County5211950.1187.4Wind45722536Relatively Low
Pendleton County342449.1556.8Winter2302367Very Low
Pocahontas County397542.2506.3Winter13123706Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

CountyClaims, last 10 yearsPolicies in forceClaims per 100 policiesClaims since 1978Paid
Marshall County6611358.4541$4.3M
Cabell County15530550.8807$11M
Marion County6414045.7371$5.8M
Ohio County18847439.73,123$34M
Wetzel County4211038.2498$6.4M
Mingo County12737134.21,679$30M
Brooke County3210331.1488$6.4M
Wood County5318428.8947$13M
Logan County8932227.62,149$32M
Monongalia County3211727.4361$3.2M
Harrison County4016224.7786$5.7M
Wayne County3716123.0469$4.3M
Kanawha County2541,15921.92,479$43M
Randolph County2712421.8536$4.7M
Putnam County4924420.1290$3.3M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026
Declarations touching West Virginia by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.
Incident typeDeclarations
Flood36
Severe Storm28
Hurricane5
Snowstorm4
Fire3
Biological2
Drought2
Winter Storm1
Tropical Storm1
Severe Ice Storm1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
3 Aug 2026DR-4932Major disasterFloodSevere Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides4
24 Jan 2026EM-3639EmergencyWinter StormSevere Winter Storm55
22 Jul 2025DR-4884Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides2
26 Feb 2025DR-4861Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides12
9 Dec 2024DR-4851Major disasterTropical StormPost-Tropical Storm Helene1
24 May 2024DR-4787Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides13
22 May 2024DR-4783Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides15
30 Jan 2024DR-4756Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides6
28 Nov 2022DR-4679Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides1
28 Nov 2022DR-4678Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides1
20 May 2021DR-4605Major disasterFloodSevere Storms And Flooding7
13 May 2021DR-4603Major disasterSevere Ice StormSevere Winter Storms5
3 Apr 2020DR-4517Major disasterBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic55
13 Mar 2020EM-3450EmergencyBiologicalCovid-1955
2 Aug 2019DR-4455Major disasterFloodSevere Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides5

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026
NFIP claims in West Virginia by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

27,998 claims, 23,439 paid, $387M in total; 3,068 repetitive-loss and 301 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in West Virginia with flood claims (453).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which West Virginia counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Kanawha (15), Berkeley (14) and Preston (13), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which West Virginia counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Ohio (3,123), Kanawha (2,479) and Logan (2,149) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has West Virginia had?

85 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 2 of them in 2026 so far.

How does West Virginia compare with the national rate?

124.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 15.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.