Fayette County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 283 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,878 nationally and #20 in West Virginia.
283
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
30
Direct injuries
$71.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Fayette County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fayette County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 79 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 272 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fayette County, West Virginia record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $60.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fayette County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 136 | 0 | $3.4M | 96 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 78 | 0 | $390K | 3 | 1968–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $60.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 20 | 1 | $3.6M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Tornado | 5 | 1 | $2.9M | F3 | 1961–2026 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $16K | 0 | 1997–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 1 | $6K | 0 | 2000–2013 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Fayette 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
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-04 | EF3 | 1 | 11 | 32.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-02-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fayette County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | Tornado | 1 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 1, 2015 | Lightning | GATEWOOD | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Feb 17, 2023 | Flood | LONG BRANCH | 1 | 0 | $2K |
| May 27, 2000 | Heavy Rain | MT CARBON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 25, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 10 | $0 | |
| Mar 13, 2003 | Lightning | MT HOPE | 0 | 8 | $16K |
| Apr 2, 2024 | Tornado | EDMOND | 0 | 1 | $100K |
| Jun 23, 1997 | Lightning | GARTEN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Continuous rounds of rain led to prolonged flooding around the Pax area. High water was first observed on the evening of February 16th along Packs Branch Road and portions of Paint Creek Road. The next morning, Paint Creek remained out of its banks and continued to spill onto Paint Creek Road. A vehicle drove into the flooded road and was swept away along with an infant. Local authorities later found the infant had drowned.
Rains of 1 to 1.5 inches fell during the daylight hours on this Saturday. A flash flood watch was in effect, but no flooding occurred. Between 1700 and 1730 E, a 6 year old girl drowned after falling into a swollen culvert near her home in Montgomery Heights. She was swept through a drainage pipe and into the Kanawha River.
Water from an overflowing Smithers Creek spilled onto Cannelton Hollow Road in the town of Smithers. This resulted in extensive flooding of several homes and a few businesses located along Cannelton Hollow Road. Severe flooding was also observed in the Scrabble Creek area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
39,519
Population (ACS)
$106K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 22, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Nov 28, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fayette County, West Virginia?
283 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $71.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fayette County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 136 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fayette County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fayette County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fayette County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fayette County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fayette County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fayette 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
- Doddridge County 154
- Gilmer County 166
- Clay County 167
- Grant County 206
- Calhoun County 134
- Greenbrier County 475
Cite this page
“Fayette County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/fayette-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.