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Kanawha County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 987 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #147 nationally and #1 in West Virginia.
987
Recorded events
15
Direct deaths
72
Direct injuries
$127.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Kanawha County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kanawha County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 14.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 338 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 54 events fall before 1990 and 933 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Kanawha County, West Virginia record is flood, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $64.4M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kanawha County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 541 | 3 | $14.0M | 87 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 204 | 0 | $15.7M | 4.25 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 117 | 5 | $30.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 76 | 6 | $64.4M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $238K | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $1.4M | F1 | 1969–2024 |
| Lightning | 11 | 1 | $129K | 0 | 2001–2018 |
| High Wind | 3 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Debris Flow | 2 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2014–2015 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Kanawha 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
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-18 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kanawha County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2016 | Flood | KING | 4 | 0 | $36.0M |
| Feb 18, 2000 | Flash Flood | SISSONVILLE | 3 | 0 | $500K |
| Jun 23, 2016 | Flood | ISLAND BRANCH | 2 | 0 | $26.0M |
| Jun 28, 1998 | Flash Flood | SISSONVILLE | 2 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Apr 9, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 4, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | CHARLESTON | 1 | 1 | $200K |
| Jul 27, 2005 | Lightning | ST ALBANS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | CHARLESTON | 1 | 0 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The flood of record occurred on the lower Elk River around Clendenin. ||Two women died. They were trying to save family heirlooms in the basement of a home in Elkview. In likely their last cell phone contact, 1 of the 2 women described the scene, as like the Titanic. An elderly man also died in his home in Elkview. Another young woman died, but the situation was unknown. | |Both the flash flooding and the river flooding were severe, but the amount of damage from the record river flooding was likely higher in Kanawha County, than the damage from the flash flooding.
Severe flash flooding occurred in the northeastern portion of the county. Streams such as Jordan Creek, Doctors Creek, Thorofare Run, Little Sandy Creek, Wills Creek, and the lower reaches of Big Sandy Creek caused much destruction. ||Little Sandy Creek inundated one large culvert over the only road access to a shopping plaza. The road collapsed. Many shoppers were stranded. About 200 people slept in their vehicles overnight, before walking out on the 24th. ||A 62 year old male drowned along Jordan Creek. He did not leave his home. His small house was washed away. A 47 year old female drowned in her vehicle. She was on a flooded road along Wills Creek.
Several trees and large branches were blown down from the East End of Charleston on toward Kanawha State Forest. Some branches fell onto vehicles. The dark screen at the baseball field was shredded by the wind. ||A delayed direct death occurred in a freak accident about 2 hours after the storms had ended. A man, his 2 children, and his mom were traveling in a 4 door sedan near Kanawha State Forest just before 1900E. They had tried to attend a midweek church service, but the service was canceled due to a power outage. A large tree, weakened by the storm, fell off a hillside and directly onto their moving vehicle. The roof was smashed. The 62 year old mother was killed. She was the passenger in the front seat. The driver was seriously injured. The 2 children were not seriously hurt.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
176,537
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
34
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 |
| Jan 30, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| May 20, 2021 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Charleston 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kanawha County, West Virginia?
987 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 15 direct deaths and $127.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kanawha County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 541 recorded events — 54.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kanawha County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kanawha County?
34 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kanawha County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kanawha County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kanawha County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kanawha 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
- Jefferson County 401
- Lewis County 235
- Jackson County 276
- Lincoln County 299
- Harrison County 446
- Logan County 277
Cite this page
“Kanawha County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/kanawha-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.