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Harrison County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 446 recorded events between 1970 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,075 nationally and #7 in West Virginia.
446
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$15.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Harrison County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Harrison County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 8.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 151 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 406 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Harrison County, West Virginia record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $5.9M 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 Harrison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 244 | 1 | $4.6M | 87 | 1970–2026 |
| Hail | 81 | 0 | $766K | 2.75 | 1975–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 78 | 0 | $5.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 28 | 0 | $834K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Tornado | 6 | 0 | $3.5M | F2 | 1970–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 1 | $12K | 0 | 1997–2013 |
| Lightning | 4 | 1 | $167K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
Decade by decade
Harrison 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: 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Harrison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4, 2009 | Heavy Rain | SARDIS | 1 | 1 | $7K |
| Aug 17, 1997 | Lightning | CLARKSBURG | 1 | 0 | $35K |
| Jul 9, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jul 31, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHINNSTON | 0 | 2 | $40K |
| Aug 25, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEST MILFORD | 0 | 1 | $8K |
| May 24, 1998 | Tornado | SARDIS | 0 | 1 | $600K |
| Apr 9, 1991 | 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
A 34 year old woman was killed, when a 70 foot tall tree fell up a slight hill and smashed through the middle of her mobile home. She was sitting inside watching television. The freak accident occurred as the heavier rains were diminishing. The ground was saturated with some soil erosion around the tree. The wind was blowing at about 10 to 20 mph. Her husband and 2 children were also inside. Her 6 year old daughter was slightly injured with abrasions on her leg.||Emergency responders were slowed by water over the roads from small streams. A fire truck became stuck in the water and had to be removed by a large tow truck.
Widespread flash flooding occured across Harrison County. Areas in and around Bridgeport and Shinnston were especially hard hit. Around Bridgeport multiple roads were closed, and several houses had water into the first floors. Also, many homes had water seepage into their basements. A total of 44 homes were damaged in Harrison County by the flooding, 14 of which sustained substantial damage. There was also flash flooding in Wallace, where Long Fork Creek and Little Tenmile Creek both came out of their banks, closing portions of Barnes Street. The WV Department of Highways reported 28 state and county routes were flooded in Harrison County.
Numerous streams quickly flooded roads and into some homes across northern portions of Harrison County during the late night hours.||Evacuations and water rescues did occur. Examples of some of the creeks included Salem Fork, Thomas Fork, Booths Creek, and Mudlick Run.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
64,984
Population (ACS)
$166K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Jan 30, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, 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 |
| Aug 18, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Harrison County, West Virginia?
446 events are on record between 1970 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $15.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Harrison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 244 recorded events — 54.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Harrison County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Harrison County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Harrison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Harrison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Harrison County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Harrison 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
- Hardy County 233
- Jackson County 276
- Hancock County 232
- Jefferson County 401
- Hampshire County 329
- Kanawha County 987
Cite this page
“Harrison County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/harrison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.