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Gilmer County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 166 recorded events between 1967 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,629 nationally and #48 in West Virginia.
166
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$4.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Gilmer County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Gilmer County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 48 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 7 events fall before 1990 and 159 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 $1.5M 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 Gilmer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 86 | 0 | $1.2M | 65 | 1980–2025 |
| Hail | 33 | 0 | $28K | 2 | 1967–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 28 | 0 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2007–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1999 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25K | F0 | 1975–1975 |
Decade by decade
Gilmer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-06-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Gilmer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Leading Creek flooded roads and washed out culverts near Alice. Near Troy, a barn and a house had water damage. West of Glenville, Sinking Creek flooded roads. Horn Creek around Cox Mills and the Right Fork of Steer Creek near Shock flooded. Near the Braxton County line, the cooperative observer near Rosedale measured 3.8 inches of rain in 24 hours, while Glenville had 2.7 inches. The majority of this rain fell in 3 hours or less time.
Small stream flooding was followed quickly by river flooding. The Little Kanawha River created around 28.3 feet in Glenville. Flood stage is 23 feet. Four homes had water inside in Sand Fork. The Red Cross opened a shelter in Sand Fork with at least 4 families being housed. One home had major damage in the county, while 10 others had minor damage. One business had 4 inches of water on its first floor. In the city of Glenville, a few homes had water in their basements. The emergency manager said, We've been very lucky with only a few homes and buinesses getting water inside.
Slow moving thunderstorms dumped over 3 inches of rain in less than 90 minutes over a portion of the Cove Creek basin, and along the smaller Bloody Run. An unofficial report of 4.5 inches of rain was measured along Big Run. A walk bridge was washed out along Big Run. Yet, property damage was more significant along Bloody Run. Water washed out a section of Route 47. Water got into about 4 garages and 1 mobile home. One private bridge was damaged. The flooding would have been more severe, but the ground was dry prior to the downpour.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,288
Population (ACS)
$84K
Median home value
25
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 |
| 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 |
| May 18, 2015 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Gilmer County, West Virginia?
166 events are on record between 1967 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Gilmer County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 86 recorded events — 51.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Gilmer 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 Gilmer County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Gilmer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Gilmer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Gilmer County as very low risk, placing it in the 11 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Gilmer 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
- Fayette County 283
- Grant County 206
- Doddridge County 154
- Greenbrier County 475
- Clay County 167
- Hampshire County 329
Cite this page
“Gilmer County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/gilmer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.