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Jackson County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 276 recorded events between 1963 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,922 nationally and #23 in West Virginia.
276
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$12.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Jackson County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jackson County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 92 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 12 events fall before 1990 and 264 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Jackson County, West Virginia record is flash flood, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $7.2M 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 Jackson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 132 | 0 | $4.0M | 83 | 1967–2026 |
| Hail | 77 | 0 | $162K | 2 | 1975–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 40 | 2 | $7.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 20 | 0 | $291K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $295K | F1 | 1963–2016 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $32K | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
Jackson 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
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jackson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2016 | Flash Flood | MILLWOOD | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Apr 16, 2011 | Flash Flood | GIVEN | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Apr 9, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 10 | $0 | |
| Jun 23, 2016 | Tornado | KENNA | 0 | 2 | $20K |
| Mar 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 2 | $200K |
| Jul 16, 1987 | 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
Flash flooding occurred in scattered locations, mostly in the northern half of the county. In Ravenswood, a small stream along Utah Road called Lick Run is usually ankle deep. It rose 6 feet. A 4 year old toddler slipped into the water. The grandfather jumped in, but could not rescue him. His body was found the following day, about a quarter mile away. ||A preliminary damage assessment was done in this county. It had 10 homes destroyed and about 2 dozen with damage.
Streams overflowed onto the usual low spots. Shortly after 0900E, a 79 year old man was heading back home after a church pancake breakfast. He was traveling down Copper Fork Road near Sandyville which is also Route 33/8. Water from Copper Fork had come out of the banks in an area considered a low water crossing. The man still tried to drive across the dip in the road. The water was moving swiftly and his car was pulled into the creek. Before emergency workers reached the scene, neighbors had successfully pulled him halfway out of the car with a rope. At that time, the vehicle was pushed further down the stream. The car became lodged under a bridge and the neighbors lost sight of the driver. Swift water rescuers could not save him. He drowned.
Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. A construction canopy on the bridge across the Ohio River at Ravenswood collapsed, closing the structure. Electricity was lost to around 10,000 customers. Two homes were destroyed, 5 had major damage, and 6 others had minor damage. The public infrastructure damage assessment was over $800,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
27,705
Population (ACS)
$157K
Median home value
25
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 |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| May 21, 2015 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Jackson County, West Virginia?
276 events are on record between 1963 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $12.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jackson County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 132 recorded events — 47.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jackson County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jackson County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jackson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jackson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jackson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 56 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jackson 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
- Harrison County 446
- Jefferson County 401
- Hardy County 233
- Kanawha County 987
- Hancock County 232
- Lewis County 235
Cite this page
“Jackson County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/jackson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.