Cold/Wind Chill, Mercer
- When
- February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Mercer forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.406, -81.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold in West Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1996
Bitterly cold air overspread southeast West Virginia during the early morning hours on the 3rd and continued until around noon on the 6th. Several daily record lows were established during this period.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
Bitterly cold air overspread southeast West Virginia during the early morning hours on the 3rd and continued until around noon on the 6th. Several daily record lows were established during this period. At Union in Monroe County, the low temperature on the morning of the 5th was 26 degres below zero. In addition, at Renick in Greenbrier County, the low temperature on the 5th was 20 degrees below zero. In Bluefield, the low of 8 degrees below zero on the 5th tied a record for the date. Most locations reported low temperatures from 8 below to 20 below zero on the 5th.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Cold/Wind Chill, Summers
- When
- February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Summers forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.656, -80.859 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Monroe
- When
- February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Monroe forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.560, -80.551 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Cold/Wind Chill, Greenbrier
- When
- February 3, 4:00 AM EST to February 6, 12:00 PM EST
- Where
- Greenbrier forecast zone
What these are
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Virginia, February 3 to 6, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Cold in South Carolina, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Ice Storm in Oregon, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Texas, February 3 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in North Carolina, February 3 to 6, 1996
- Cold in Alabama, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Avalanche and Flood in Alaska, February 3 to 10, 1996
- Ice Storm in Louisiana, February 3, 1996
- Flood in California, February 3 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Georgia, February 3 to 5, 1996
More
Every storm in West Virginia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5539939, 5539940, 5539941, 5539942.