Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit West Virginia: hurricane history

43 storms have passed within 50 km of West Virginia from 1861 to 2021, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near West Virginia

The record holds 43 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of West Virginia between 1861 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 20 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 1 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 43storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 3at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near West Virginia?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression2047%
Tropical storm1842%
Category 137%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity25%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

West Virginia storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1950s.1860s1880s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2021, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1861, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1860s2
1870s3
1880s3
1890s4
1910s1
1920s3
1930s1
1940s2
1950s5
1960s1
1970s4
1980s3
1990s4
2000s4
2010s1
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 20 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun1Jul4Aug13Sep20Oct4Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun1
Jul4
Aug13
Sep20
Oct4
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near West Virginia

  • Unnamed storm of September 1893 (North Atlantic)25 September 1893 to 15 October 1893, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 955 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1896 (North Atlantic)22 September 1896 to 30 September 1896, Category 1 (70 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 960 hPa
  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1863 (North Atlantic)11 September 1863 to 20 September 1863, peak Tropical storm (60 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of September 1876 (North Atlantic)10 September 1876 to 20 September 1876, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 980 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1893 (North Atlantic)15 August 1893 to 2 September 1893, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa

Most recent storms near West Virginia

  • Ida (2021)26 August 2021 to 4 September 2021, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 929 hPa
  • Bertha (2020)27 May 2020 to 28 May 2020, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,005 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Notable storms near West Virginia with their own pages

  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Fran (1996)23 August 1996 to 10 September 1996, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 946 hPa
  • Audrey (1957)24 June 1957 to 29 June 1957, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 946 hPa
  • Gracie (1959)20 September 1959 to 2 October 1959, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 951 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa
  • Camille (1969)14 August 1969 to 22 August 1969, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 905 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • Florence (2018)30 August 2018 to 18 September 2018, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Isidore (2002)14 September 2002 to 27 September 2002, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 934 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa

West Virginia counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first. 55 of them have at least 3 storms and their own page.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Jefferson County17Category 1
Berkeley County16Category 1
Hardy County14Category 1
Hampshire County13Category 1
Kanawha County13Tropical storm
Lincoln County13Tropical storm
McDowell County13Tropical storm
Pendleton County12Category 1
Cabell County11Tropical storm
Grant County11Category 1
Logan County11Tropical storm
Mason County11Tropical storm
Mingo County11Tropical storm
Randolph County11Tropical storm
Wayne County11Tropical storm
Wyoming County11Tropical storm
Jackson County10Tropical storm
Morgan County10Category 1
Putnam County10Tropical storm
Raleigh County10Tropical storm
Roane County10Tropical storm
Wirt County10Tropical storm
Wood County10Tropical storm
Boone County9Tropical storm
Calhoun County9Tropical storm
Gilmer County9Tropical storm
Mercer County9Tropical storm
Mineral County9Category 1
Tucker County9Tropical storm
Barbour County8Tropical storm
Doddridge County8Tropical storm
Fayette County8Tropical storm
Lewis County8Tropical storm
Pocahontas County8Tropical storm
Ritchie County8Tropical storm
Tyler County8Tropical storm
Wetzel County8Tropical storm
Clay County7Tropical storm
Greenbrier County7Tropical storm
Harrison County7Tropical storm
Marion County7Tropical storm
Monroe County7Tropical storm
Nicholas County7Tropical storm
Pleasants County7Tropical storm
Preston County7Tropical storm
Upshur County7Tropical storm
Braxton County6Tropical storm
Marshall County6Tropical storm
Monongalia County6Tropical storm
Taylor County6Tropical storm
Webster County6Tropical depression
Brooke County5Tropical storm
Summers County5Tropical depression
Hancock County4Tropical storm
Ohio County4Tropical storm

Other states

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