Blizzard in West Virginia
Every blizzard event the National Weather Service has filed in West Virginia, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
The most significant on the map
The most significant blizzard episodes in West Virginia.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 58
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $22 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in West Virginia, October 29 to 31, 2012A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. Periods of rain fell for 2 days from the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east.
- Blizzard and Flood in West Virginia, October 29 to 31, 2012The remnants of Sandy brought a variety of weather impacts to western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland as the storm made landfall and interacted with a cold front essentially right over the region.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 9 to 11, 2010A potent area of low pressure tracked through the Midwest on the 9th. As the low approached the Mid-Atlantic coast, this system phased with energy in the southern branch of the jet stream to cause strong low pressure to develop just off the Delmarva peninsula.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, January 16 to 17, 2022In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 16th, a powerful polar front jet dug a deep trough into the Middle Mississippi Valley and into the lower Appalachian Range.
- Blizzard and Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 10 to 11, 2025A cold front moved through West Virginia during the early afternoon of December 10th and ushered in a blast of cold air into the region. Precipitation accompanying and trailing behind the front changed from rain to snow through the course of the afternoon and evening.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, January 7 to 8, 1996An historic winter storm, known as the "Blizzard of '96", crippled all of eastern West Virginia during the first full weekend of January. In general, snow totals ranged from 28 to 36 inches at most locations in the Potomac Highlands and the eastern Panhandle.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, December 5 to 8, 2010A trough of low pressure remained over the region from the fifth of December through the 8th. A northwest flow around the trough continued to pump in plenty of cold air.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 25 to 28, 2010An upper-level low passed through the Mid-Atlantic on the night of the 24th. The upper-level low combined with energy in the southern branch of the jet stream, causing low pressure to rapidly intensify over New England on the 25th into the 26th.
- Blizzard and Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 4 to 6, 2024An Arctic Front passed through during the night of December 4th into December 5th. A wave of low pressure along the Arctic Front brought an initial mix of sleet and freezing rain. As the front passed through, heavy snow developed and the winds increased.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, November 21 to 23, 2024The upper level low pressure center associated with severe weather on the 20th continued to track across the Upper Ohio Valley on the 21st and slowly off to the east thereafter.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, December 18 to 19, 2009Low pressure tracked from the northeast Gulf coast early on December 18th reaching a position near Alma, Georgia as a 997 mb low by Friday the 18th at 5 PM EST. The storm continued moving northeast and deepened to a 986 mb low near Cape Hatteras by 10 AM December 19th.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in West Virginia, February 9 to 11, 2010Only 3 days after an historic snow storm hit the region, another major storm blasted portions of western Pennyslvania, northern West Virginia, Garrett county Maryland, and eastern Ohio from the afternoon of February 9th to the early morning of February 11th.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, October 29 to 30, 2012Hurricane Sandy moved up the Atlantic coast and then turned Northwest and made landfall northeast of MD. Heavy rain and high winds over spread coastal regions and most of Maryland. Heavy rain caused flood and river flooding.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, December 21 to 22, 2012Intensifying low pressure over the Great Lakes with an associated cold front brought below freezing temperatures and snow to the Potomac Highlands. Windy northwest flow behind the cold front produced upslope snow showers and blizzard conditions.
- Blizzard and Winter Weather in West Virginia, November 21 to 23, 2024A potent upper-level area of low pressure brought the first widespread snow of the season to the Alleghenies. Cold air rushed in during the morning of Thursday November 21st which resulted in snow showers and squalls quickly overspreading the mountains.
- Blizzard and Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 16 to 17, 2025Behind a potent cold front, rain changed to snow during the afternoon hours of February 15th. Heavy snow with visibilities less than one quarter of a mile continued across the Allegheny Front through the overnight.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, January 26, 2011A complex weather system moved through the region on Wednesday the 26th. An area of low pressure developed off the North Carolina coast, while an upper level low passed overhead.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, February 16 to 17, 2025Surface low pressure transitioned from southwest Pennsylvania into upstate New York over the course of the day. .
- Blizzard in West Virginia, December 10 to 11, 2025A warm front brought a period of elevation dependent heavy snow during the daylight hours of December 10th across the Allegheny Mountains. During the evening, a cold front moved through changing all precipitation to snow.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, December 5, 2024A deep trough digging across the Upper Midwest and into the Great Lakes region associated with a strong surface low crossing Ontario resulted in widespread, synoptic snowfall across the region.
- Blizzard in West Virginia, December 10 to 11, 2025A strong trough diving south over the Great Lakes resulted in a widespread rain/snow mix, however, in the higher terrain of West Virginia, the precipitation type was predominantly snow. That plus wind gusts between 50 and 60mph resulted in Blizzard conditions across the ridges.
More
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.