Tornadoes in West Virginia
164 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 2.2 a year, 38th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 2 people and injured 109. None was rated F4 or above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in West Virginia
The strongest
- F3, Raleigh, Fayette and Greenbrier counties, West VirginiaApril 4, 1974
- F3, Monongalia, Preston and Garrett counties, West Virginia and MarylandJune 3, 1980
- F3, Raleigh County, West VirginiaApril 4, 1974
- F3, Doddridge County, West VirginiaOctober 1, 1986
- F2, Mineral and Hampshire counties, West VirginiaJune 2, 1998
- F2, Jefferson County, West VirginiaNovember 16, 1989
- F2, Preston and Garrett counties, West Virginia and MarylandJune 20, 1977
- EF2, Kanawha County, West VirginiaApril 2, 2024
- F2, Greenbrier County, West VirginiaApril 24, 1975
- EF2, Fayette County, West VirginiaApril 2, 2024
- F2, Monroe and Greenbrier counties, West VirginiaJune 22, 1990
- F2, Monroe County, West VirginiaJuly 11, 1976
The longest paths
- F3, Raleigh, Fayette and Greenbrier counties, West VirginiaApril 4, 1974
- F3, Monongalia, Preston and Garrett counties, West Virginia and MarylandJune 3, 1980
- F1, Lincoln County, West VirginiaSeptember 29, 1972
- EF1, Lincoln County, West VirginiaMarch 2, 2012
- F2, Mineral and Hampshire counties, West VirginiaJune 2, 1998
- F1, Marshall County, West VirginiaJanuary 9, 1998
- F1, Wetzel County, West VirginiaJuly 30, 1996
- F3, Raleigh County, West VirginiaApril 4, 1974
- F1, Hampshire and Mineral counties, West VirginiaJune 2, 1998
- F2, Jefferson County, West VirginiaNovember 16, 1989
- EF1, Putnam County, West VirginiaApril 2, 2024
- F2, Preston and Garrett counties, West Virginia and MarylandJune 20, 1977
The costliest
- F2, Wood County, West VirginiaJuly 10, 2003
- EF2, Marshall and Washington counties, West Virginia and PennsylvaniaAugust 1, 2022
- F1, Harrison County, West VirginiaMay 24, 1998
- EF1, Kanawha County, West VirginiaJune 24, 2019
- EF1, Kanawha County, West VirginiaApril 2, 2024
- EF1, Harrison County, West VirginiaJune 23, 2017
- EF1, Upshur County, West VirginiaJune 17, 2015
- EF2, Raleigh County, West VirginiaOctober 7, 2014
- F1, Jefferson County, West VirginiaSeptember 17, 2004
- F2, Mineral and Hampshire counties, West VirginiaJune 2, 1998
- EF0, Hampshire County, West VirginiaJuly 12, 2022
- F1, Lincoln County, West VirginiaAugust 9, 2000
The biggest days in West Virginia
Every year
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2022 | 3 | |||
| 2021 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | 2 | |||
| 2018 | 1 | |||
| 2017 | 4 | |||
| 2016 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2015 | 3 | |||
| 2014 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2012 | 1 | |||
| 2011 | 1 | |||
| 2010 | 1 | |||
| 2008 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2007 | 1 | |||
| 2004 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2003 | 2 | |||
| 2002 | 1 | |||
| 2001 | 1 | |||
| 2000 | 3 | |||
| 1999 | 1 | |||
| 1998 | 13 | 7 | ||
| 1997 | 1 | |||
| 1996 | 3 | |||
| 1994 | 2 | |||
| 1993 | 1 | |||
| 1992 | 1 | |||
| 1991 | 1 | |||
| 1990 | 4 | |||
| 1989 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1986 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1985 | 1 | |||
| 1982 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 1981 | 2 | |||
| 1980 | 6 | 19 | ||
| 1979 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1978 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1977 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1976 | 1 | |||
| 1975 | 5 | |||
| 1974 | 6 | 1 | 32 | |
| 1973 | 1 | |||
| 1972 | 1 | |||
| 1971 | 1 | |||
| 1970 | 4 | |||
| 1969 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1968 | 1 | |||
| 1967 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 1966 | 2 | |||
| 1965 | 3 | |||
| 1964 | 1 | |||
| 1963 | 1 | |||
| 1962 | 1 | |||
| 1961 | 2 | |||
| 1959 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1957 | 1 | |||
| 1956 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1954 | 3 | |||
| 1951 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1950 | 1 |
Every county in West Virginia
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 164. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in West VirginiaForecast for your townThe live radar over West Virginia
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.