541
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
67
Direct injuries
$14.0M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 541 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #93 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Kanawha County, West Virginia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Kanawha County is the 2010s, when 206 of the county's 541 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kanawha County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 54.8% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #93 for this hazard and #1 within West Virginia, putting it in the 97.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Kanawha County with 160 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 9, 1991 | 0 | 1 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 4, 2010 | CHARLESTON | 50 | 1 | 1 | $200K |
| Jul 25, 2005 | CHARLESTON | 50 | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Apr 9, 1991 | 57 | 0 | 58 | $0 | |
| Jul 10, 2003 | CHARLESTON | 50 | 0 | 3 | $10K |
| Jul 25, 2009 | NITRO | 35 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 24, 1986 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | FRAME | 45 | $2K |
| Mar 16, 2026 | RUTLEDGE | 50 | $2K |
| Mar 16, 2026 | FALLING ROCK | 50 | $500 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | SISSONVILLE | 50 | $500 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | BELLE | 45 | $500 |
| Nov 16, 2025 | MILL CREEK | 50 | $3K |
| Jul 27, 2025 | CHESAPEAKE | 45 | $500 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | FRAME | 45 | $250 |
| Jul 17, 2025 | SATTES | 50 | $3K |
| Jul 17, 2025 | CLENDENIN | 50 | $500 |
Other hazards here
More from Kanawha County
- Hail 204
- Flash Flood 117
- Flood 76
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several trees and large branches were blown down from the East End of Charleston on toward Kanawha State Forest. Some branches fell onto vehicles. The dark screen at the baseball field was shredded by the wind. ||A delayed direct death occurred in a freak accident about 2 hours after the storms had ended. A man, his 2 children, and his mom were traveling in a 4 door sedan near Kanawha State Forest just before 1900E. They had tried to attend a midweek church service, but the service was canceled due to a power outage. A large tree, weakened by the storm, fell off a hillside and directly onto their moving vehicle. The roof was smashed. The 62 year old mother was killed. She was the passenger in the front seat. The driver was seriously injured. The 2 children were not seriously hurt.
Scattered locations throughout the city reported trees or large branches blown down. Garrison Ave was blocked by fallen trees. A 79 year old man was killed by a falling tree in the 1400 block of Virginia Street. He was trying to get into his car, that was located off an alley behind his home. The tree fell from an adjacent backyard and across a brick wall. The tree canopy engulfed the parked car.
Numerous trees and large branches were blown down in the county. Seven homes were destroyed, 20 had major damage, and another 86 dwellings had minor damage. Nearly 79,000 customers were without electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was over 3 million dollars.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Kanawha County, West Virginia?
541 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Kanawha County between 1957 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Kanawha County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Kanawha County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Kanawha County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Kanawha County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/kanawha-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.