Name: High Wind in West Virginia, September 6, 1996
Start: 1996-09-06T07:00
End: 1996-09-06T15:00
Location: West Virginia

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $250,000
Crop damage: $500,000
Events: 8

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 LWX wrote it up.

The track of the remnants of Hurricane Fran brought high winds, gusting between 60 and 70 mph at elevations above 1500 feet, into eastern West Virginia during the morning and early afternoon of the 6th. Numerous trees were knocked down, mainly at higher elevations - although the damage was not as pronounced as that several ridges over in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. In Harper's Ferry (WVZ053), channeling winds and a northeastern exposure caused numerous trees to fall. The gusty winds also tore a portion of roof from one home.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Pendleton

When: September 6, 7:00 AM EST to 12:00 PM EST
Where: Pendleton forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $250,000

High Wind, Grant

When: September 6, 8:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $50,000

High Wind, Hardy

When: September 6, 8:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
Where: Hardy forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 39.008, -78.858 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hampshire

When: September 6, 9:00 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
Where: Hampshire forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 39.317, -78.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Mineral

When: September 6, 10:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where: Mineral forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $100

High Wind, Morgan

When: September 6, 11:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $15,000
Coordinates: 39.560, -78.258 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Berkeley

When: September 6, 11:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Berkeley forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 39.464, -78.027 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jefferson

When: September 6, 11:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 39.308, -77.863 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in West Virginia in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in West Virginia, September 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: 5572389, 5572390, 5572391, 5572392, 5572393, 5572394, 5572395, 5572396.