Tornado History Map

West Virginia tornado history

181 tornadoes recorded in West Virginia from 1950 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by rating.

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Years1950 to 2025
Rating (F or EF scale)

Shows tornadoes that started in, or crossed, the chosen state. To see how many have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • F0 / EF0 Light damage
  • F1 / EF1 Moderate damage
  • F2 / EF2 Considerable damage
  • F3 / EF3 Severe damage
  • F4 / EF4 Devastating damage
  • F5 / EF5 Incredible damage
  • Unknown Not rated (2007 onwards)

How to read the lines. Each line is one tornado, drawn from where it started to where it ended, coloured and sized by its rating. A dot means the record has no end point. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see how many tornadoes have passed nearby. Weaker tornadoes appear as you zoom in. Ratings use the Fujita (F) scale before 1 February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale from then on.

Tornadoes in West Virginia

The Storm Prediction Center records 181 tornadoes that touched West Virginia between 1950 and 2024, and 164 of them began there. A tornado that crossed a state line counts in every state it touched. They killed 15 people and injured 301. The busiest month is June, with 50 tornadoes.

  • 181tornadoes
  • 15deaths
  • 301injuries
  • 75per 10,000 sq mi of land
  • 51counties touched

Tornadoes per 10,000 square miles lets you compare states of different sizes. It counts every tornado that touched the state.

How strong were West Virginia's tornadoes?

RatingTornadoesShare
F0 / EF05731%
F1 / EF18849%
F2 / EF22715%
F3 / EF384%
F4 / EF400%
F5 / EF500%
Unknown rating1<1%

West Virginia tornadoes over time

Tornadoes by decade
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 32 in 2010s.1950s81960s211970s291980s181990s312000s162010s322020s26

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. The record starts in 1950.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1950s8
1960s21
1970s29
1980s18
1990s31
2000s16
2010s32
2020s26

The record has changed over the decades as detection and reporting improved, so more weak tornadoes show up in recent years than in the 1950s. The year with the most in West Virginia was 2024, with 20.

Tornadoes by month
Bar chart of tornadoes by period. The most is 50 in Jun.Jan2Feb1Mar8Apr29May15Jun50Jul37Aug20Sep9Oct6Nov1Dec3
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan2
Feb1
Mar8
Apr29
May15
Jun50
Jul37
Aug20
Sep9
Oct6
Nov1
Dec3

Deadliest tornadoes that touched West Virginia

Strongest tornadoes that touched West Virginia

Most recent tornadoes in West Virginia

  • West Virginia tornado25 September 2024, Unknown rating, 2.2 miles long
  • West Virginia tornado8 August 2024, EF0, 0.5 miles long
  • West Virginia tornado5 June 2024, EF0, 1.3 miles long
  • West Virginia tornado5 June 2024, EF0, 1.7 miles long
  • West Virginia tornado5 June 2024, EF0, 0.9 miles long

Notable West Virginia tornadoes with their own pages

Many of these tornadoes killed or injured people. The numbers are the official record's, and they may be revised.

West Virginia counties

Every county that a tornado has touched is listed, most tornadoes first. 26 of them have at least 3 tornadoes and their own page.

CountyTornadoesStrongest
Kanawha County15F/EF2
Berkeley County14F/EF2
Preston County13F/EF3
Monongalia County10F/EF3
Wood County10F/EF3
Jefferson County8F/EF2
Putnam County8F/EF1
Raleigh County8F/EF3
Greenbrier County7F/EF3
Marion County7F/EF2
Harrison County6F/EF2
Lincoln County6F/EF3
Wayne County6F/EF3
Cabell County5F/EF1
Fayette County5F/EF3
Hampshire County4F/EF2
Mason County4F/EF1
Nicholas County4F/EF1
Randolph County4F/EF2
Taylor County4F/EF2
Barbour County3F/EF1
Jackson County3F/EF1
Lewis County3F/EF2
Marshall County3F/EF2
Ohio County3F/EF2
Tucker County3F/EF1
Doddridge County2F/EF3
Grant County2F/EF0
Hancock County2F/EF2
McDowell County2F/EF1
Mercer County2F/EF2
Mineral County2F/EF2
Monroe County2F/EF2
Morgan County2F/EF0
Pendleton County2F/EF1
Pleasants County2F/EF2
Summers County2F/EF2
Tyler County2F/EF1
Boone County1F/EF1
Braxton County1F/EF0
Brooke County1F/EF0
Gilmer County1F/EF0
Hardy County1F/EF0
Mingo County1F/EF3
Pocahontas County1Unrated
Ritchie County1F/EF1
Roane County1F/EF1
Upshur County1F/EF1
Wetzel County1F/EF1
Wirt County1F/EF1
Wyoming County1F/EF1

Other states

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