Barbour County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 213 recorded events between 1969 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,366 nationally and #36 in West Virginia.
213
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$6.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Barbour County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Barbour County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 78 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 198 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $2.2M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Barbour County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 106 | 0 | $1.6M | 78 | 1973–2025 |
| Hail | 38 | 0 | $2.0M | 1.75 | 1969–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 31 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 31 | 0 | $188K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $20K | F1 | 1974–2016 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1998–2006 |
Decade by decade
Barbour County, West Virginia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Barbour County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2006 | Lightning | BELINGTON | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Aug 9, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | PHILIPPI | 0 | 2 | $10K |
| Apr 9, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The county emergency manager reported 172 residences were damaged, mostly from the hail. A fewlocations had street flooding from the downpour and gusty winds. The Belington Industrial Park sustained damage. The most concentrated damage was around Calhoun, Corley, and Mount Liberty. Estimated of hail damage to upwards of 500 vehicles were received. Over 100 of these vehicles were located at the Philippi Barbour High School. A few windows were also broken at the high school.
A thunderstorm moved northeast, through Volga, Indian Fork, Spaw Lick, Cherry Hill, Philippi, Hacker Creek, and Adaland. A house near Volga was damaged by a fallen tree. Fallen trees blocked roads. Some trees along Cherry Hill Road were snapped off at mid trunk.
Small streams overflowed and blocked roads in scattered locations about the county. One example was Little Laurel Run flooding Union Road south of Philippi. ||The Tygart Valley River exceeded flood stage at Belington on the 11th, during the afternoon. The crest at Belington was 15.9 feet during the predawn hours of the 12th. This caused a few road closures to linger into the 12th. However, water levels were over a foot less, compared to the flood of the previous week.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,424
Population (ACS)
$132K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Nov 27, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Barbour County, West Virginia?
213 events are on record between 1969 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Barbour County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 106 recorded events — 49.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Barbour County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Barbour County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Barbour County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Barbour County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Barbour County as very low risk, placing it in the 24 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Barbour County, West Virginia severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Berkeley County 484
- Boone County 310
- Braxton County 214
- Brooke County 198
- Cabell County 391
- Calhoun County 134
Cite this page
“Barbour County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/barbour-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.