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Wetzel County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 200 recorded events between 1969 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,446 nationally and #39 in West Virginia.
200
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$15.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Wetzel County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wetzel County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 61 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 194 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Wetzel County, West Virginia record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $14.2M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Wetzel County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 112 | 0 | $1.0M | 70 | 1969–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 45 | 1 | $14.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 33 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1986–2024 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $78K | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $10K | F1 | 1996–1996 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Wetzel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-07-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wetzel County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 2022 | Flash Flood | KODOL | 1 | 0 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Another round of thunderstorms caused the North Fork of Fishing Creek to rise out of its banks, causing widespread basement flooding in the Pine Grove area. This was the last in a series of thunderstorm rains that moved across the county from the 27th through the 30th of June. The flash flooding associated with these storms damaged a total of 81 houses across the county, with one house completely destroyed. Flood water also washed 20 county bridges away from their supports. Many county roads were also closed due to the flood waters.
Heavy rain forced the South Fork of Fishing Creek out of its banks, with the high water closing portions of SR 20 from Hastings to Smithfield. Widespread flooding was also reported in the Hundred, Jacksonburg, Pine Grove and Smithfield areas.
A NWS Storm Survey found a micro-burst occurred in New Martinsville. Maximum winds were estimated to be around 80 MPH. Many trees were uprooted and snapped, as well as damage to roofs and the exteriors of homes. A porch collapsed off one home, and mobile homes were damaged by falling trees, with one mobile home shifted off its foundation.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,078
Population (ACS)
$108K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| May 24, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| May 22, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 17, 2018 | Mud/Landslide | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wetzel County, West Virginia?
200 events are on record between 1969 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $15.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wetzel County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 112 recorded events — 56.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wetzel 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 Wetzel County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wetzel County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wetzel County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wetzel County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wetzel 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
- Webster County 197
- Wirt County 107
- Wayne County 366
- Wood County 446
- Upshur County 280
- Wyoming County 223
Cite this page
“Wetzel County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/wetzel-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.