Hurricanes that hit Grant County, West Virginia: hurricane history

11 storms have passed within 50 km of Grant County from 1878 to 2003, coloured by intensity on the map.

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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 Grant County

The record holds 11 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Grant County, West Virginia between 1878 and 2003. The busiest month is September, with 5 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 1 strength.

  • 11storms 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 Grant County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression545%
Tropical storm327%
Category 1327%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity00%

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

Grant County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 2 in 1890s.1870s11880s11890s21920s11930s11970s21990s22000s1

The 2000s only run to 2003, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1878, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1870s1
1880s1
1890s2
1920s1
1930s1
1970s2
1990s2
2000s1

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 5 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul1Aug3Sep5Oct2Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul1
Aug3
Sep5
Oct2
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Grant County

  • 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
  • Unnamed storm of September 1893 (North Atlantic)25 September 1893 to 15 October 1893, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 955 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 1878 (North Atlantic)1 September 1878 to 13 September 1878, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1888 (North Atlantic)14 August 1888 to 24 August 1888, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt)

Most recent storms near Grant County

  • Isabel (2003)6 September 2003 to 20 September 2003, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 915 hPa
  • Fran (1996)23 August 1996 to 10 September 1996, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 946 hPa
  • Beryl (1994)14 August 1994 to 19 August 1994, Tropical depression (15 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 1,000 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.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

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