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Hancock County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 232 recorded events between 1974 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 66.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,236 nationally and #32 in West Virginia.
232
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Hancock County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hancock County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 78 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 219 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $991K 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 Hancock County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 155 | 0 | $991K | 75 | 1974–2025 |
| Hail | 44 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1980–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $450K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $915K | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $23K | 0 | 1996–1998 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2019 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | EF2 | 2024–2024 |
Decade by decade
Hancock 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
2 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 15.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-07-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hancock County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2024 | Tornado | ARROYO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
28,431
Population (ACS)
$131K
Median home value
18
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 Hancock County, West Virginia?
232 events are on record between 1974 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hancock County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 155 recorded events — 66.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hancock County?
2 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 Hancock County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hancock County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hancock County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hancock County as very low risk, placing it in the 41 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hancock 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
- Hampshire County 329
- Hardy County 233
- Greenbrier County 475
- Harrison County 446
- Grant County 206
- Jackson County 276
Cite this page
“Hancock County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/hancock-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.