County Hazards

States › West Virginia › 1996

West Virginia, 1996

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

867events recorded161 in 1995
12deaths recorded2 injuries
$102Mproperty damage (estimates)$2.2M crop damage
5disaster declarations4,258 NFIP claims, $63M paid
← 19951997 →

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.

Events by hazard

Flood249
Winter218
Wind166
Cold112
Hail66
Heat34
Other13
Lightning6
Tornado3

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1996 was 867 against 161 in 1995.

Counties with the most recorded events

CountyEvents in 1996
Randolph County30
Kanawha County27
Preston County25
Putnam County25
Cabell County24
Upshur County23
Webster County23
Wood County23
Harrison County22
Pocahontas County22
Nicholas County21
Pendleton County21
Tucker County21
Greenbrier County19
Barbour County18
Lewis County18
Lincoln County18
Mercer County18
Wayne County18
Braxton County17
Jackson County17
Marshall County17
Mason County16
Monroe County16
Clay County15

Notable events

DateCountyEvent typeMagnitudeProperty damageDeathsInjuries
8 Feb 1996RitchieHeavy Rain—$5,0004—
16 May 1996RandolphFlash Flood—$1,500,0002—
15 May 1996LoganFlash Flood—$3,500,0001—
6 Sep 1996PendletonFlash Flood—$1,000,0001—
23 Jun 1996CabellFlash Flood—$700,0001—
19 Jan 1996MorganFlash Flood—$500,0001—
6 Sep 1996GrantFlash Flood—$250,0001—
5 May 1996MasonHeavy Rain——1—
19 Jan 1996JeffersonFlood—$20,000,000——
30 Jul 1996WoodThunderstorm Wind—$400,000—1
23 Apr 1996WoodThunderstorm Wind—$250,000—1
19 Jan 1996PendletonFlash Flood—$10,000,000——
19 Jan 1996HardyFlash Flood—$9,500,000——
6 Sep 1996HardyFlood—$5,000,000——
6 Sep 1996PendletonFlood—$5,000,000——
19 Jan 1996GreenbrierFlood—$4,000,000——
6 Sep 1996MineralFlood—$3,000,000——
19 Jan 1996OhioFlood—$2,580,000——
19 Jan 1996PocahontasFlood—$2,500,000——
6 Sep 1996HampshireFlood—$2,000,000——
19 Jan 1996HancockFlood—$1,890,000——
19 Jan 1996TuckerFlood—$1,700,000——
19 Jan 1996MarshallFlood—$1,650,000——
6 Sep 1996GrantFlood—$1,500,000——
31 Jul 1996BraxtonFlash Flood—$1,500,000——
19 Jan 1996RandolphFlood—$1,000,000——
16 May 1996BarbourFlash Flood—$1,000,000——
16 May 1996PocahontasFlash Flood—$900,000——
6 Sep 1996HardyFlash Flood—$750,000——
19 Jan 1996BrookeFlood—$850,000——
16 May 1996MercerFlash Flood—$800,000——
19 Jan 1996PrestonFlood—$710,000——
31 Jul 1996WebsterFlash Flood—$700,000——
6 Sep 1996MineralFlash Flood—$500,000——
19 Jan 1996WetzelFlood—$540,000——
19 Jan 1996GreenbrierFlash Flood—$400,000——
19 Jan 1996MercerFlash Flood—$400,000——
15 May 1996McDowellFlash Flood—$400,000——
16 May 1996UpshurFlash Flood—$400,000——
6 Sep 1996HampshireFlash Flood—$250,000——

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1996

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
11 Sep 1996DR-1137Major disasterSevere StormHurricane Fran And Associated Heavy Rains,Flooding Highwind10
14 Aug 1996DR-1132Major disasterFireHeavy Rains, High Winds, Flooding, And Slides10
23 May 1996DR-1115Major disasterFloodFlooding, Heavy Winds17
25 Jan 1996DR-1096Major disasterFloodFlooding28
13 Jan 1996DR-1084Major disasterSnowstormBlizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)55

Flood insurance claims with a 1996 date of loss

4,258 NFIP claims, 3,740 of them paid, for $62,986,679.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.