67
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$190K
Property damage
Hail in McDowell County, West Virginia: 67 recorded events between 1977 and 2019. The strongest on record measured 4.5. That places the county #1,910 nationally and #17 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in McDowell County, West Virginia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in McDowell County is the 2010s, when 28 of the county's 67 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 McDowell County archive, hail makes up 24.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,910 for this hazard and #17 within West Virginia, putting it in the 38.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for hail in McDowell County with 23 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 2019 | LEX | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2019 | ROCKBRIDGE | 2 | $0 |
| May 5, 2018 | CAPELS | 0.88 | $0 |
| Mar 17, 2018 | NEWHALL | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 29, 2016 | HAVACO | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 29, 2016 | HAVACO | 1 | $0 |
| May 2, 2016 | KIMBALL | 2 | $75K |
| May 2, 2016 | CAPELS | 1.75 | $50K |
| May 2, 2016 | PREMIER | 1 | $0 |
| May 2, 2016 | AVONDALE | 1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from McDowell County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several rounds of showers and thunderstorms dumped one and one-half to three and one-half inches of rain in 36 hours. The morning thunderstorms caused wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph across much of southern and central West Virginia. Power lines and trees were blown down, a few onto homes. In Charleston, hundreds of bricks were blown off the facade of a county building, damaging four vehicles below. One person was injured when a tree fell on a school bus. In the evening, wind damage was concentrated over the extreme south. Widespread minor stream flooding occurred. Small headwater rivers, such as the Mud, the Pocatalico, and the Hughes also flooded. Damage was mostly to culverts and roads. A few people were evacuated from trailer parks along Route 95 in Wood County and along Spring Creek in Roane County. Flooded basements were most common in the urban area around Parkersburg.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in McDowell County, West Virginia?
67 hail events are recorded in McDowell County between 1977 and 2019, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in McDowell County?
The strongest hail on record in McDowell County measured 4.5.
Where does the hail data for McDowell 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
“Hail in McDowell County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/mcdowell-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.