117
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$30.8M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Kanawha County, West Virginia: 117 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #128 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Kanawha County, West Virginia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Kanawha County is the 2020s, when 52 of the county's 117 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kanawha County archive, flash flood makes up 11.9% of all recorded severe weather across 11 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #128 for this hazard and #1 within West Virginia, putting it in the 95.8 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Kanawha County with 26 recorded events, while Nov is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 18, 2000 | SISSONVILLE | 0 | 3 | 0 | $500K |
| Jun 28, 1998 | SISSONVILLE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $5.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2025 | PINCH | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2025 | TORNADO | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | ETOWAH | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | FERRELL | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | BUNKER HILL | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 27, 2025 | CHESAPEAKE | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | TORNADO | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | REAMER | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 2025 | SPRING HILL | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 16, 2025 | DONWOOD | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kanawha County
- Thunderstorm Wind 541
- Hail 204
- Flood 76
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Campbells Creek was inundated with water just before sunrise. Several homes, roads, and vehicles were flooded in and around the town. Recovery efforts lasted weeks within the community.||High water was also observed along several roads near Charleston, including Goose Hollow Road, Letart Lane, Sugar Creek Drive, Sissonville Drive, Point Lick Drive, Garrison Avenue, Spring Street, Bullitt Street, and Greenbrier Street. In Cross Lanes, New Goff Mountain road was flooded for a period of time.
A downpour fell in the vicinity of Malden Mountain, between 1730 and 1900E. This affected the right fork of Burning Spring Branch. A resident near the junction of the 3 forks, measured 4.2 inches of rain in 90 minutes. Water flowed off the steep hillside and into a few homes along the right fork. Private culverts, that were over driveways, could not handle the water. The culverts were damaged. Water rose over these culverts, into yards and around some homes. After Burning Spring Branch flowed under Route 60, it flooded Williams Ave., First Ave., and Main Street in Dupont City. The one long culvert that goes under a drug store, had a high dirt bank around it. This prevented the water to flow over the culvert. This caused severe flooding upstream of that culvert. Homes had 3 to 4 feet of water on their lower floor. Two single family homes were destroyed. On the order of 40 to 50 homes had major to minor water damage. Nearby streams, such as Georges Creek, had minor overflow.
Rains of 2.5 to 3 inches fell in less than 6 hours. Tornado reported 3.05 inches. Two and Three Quarter Mile Creek flooded the Green Valley area near St. Albans, damaging roads and flooding vehicles. The St. Albans Fire Department made boat rescues to evacuate some residents. Across the Kanawha River, Finney Branch also flooded in Institute. Three homes in Finney Hollow had 3 feet of water in their living area. About 24 homes in the county had major damage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Kanawha County, West Virginia?
117 flash flood events are recorded in Kanawha County between 1996 and 2025, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Kanawha County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Kanawha County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Kanawha County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Kanawha County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/kanawha-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.