Nicholas County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 196 recorded events between 1966 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 43.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,465 nationally and #42 in West Virginia.
196
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$30.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Nicholas County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nicholas County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 3.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 56 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 10 events fall before 1990 and 186 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 $23.8M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Nicholas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 85 | 0 | $2.4M | 87 | 1977–2025 |
| Hail | 65 | 0 | $84K | 2.25 | 1966–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 28 | 0 | $23.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $4.1M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $259K | F1 | 1967–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2001–2016 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Nicholas 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
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-03-14 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nicholas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread flash flooding occurred on small headwater rivers, like the Cherry, plus the small streams and runs throughout the county. Due to the saturated mountain slopes, water cascaded down mountainsides where no stream existed, as was the case in Richwood. Many water rescues took place and much of the town of Richwood was evacuated. The evacuation included a nursing home with 97 patients. One resident of Richwood said, just seems like there was a cloudburst right back on this mountain. It just all came at one time. It was just like a big river coming down through here. In the wake of this flooding, previously abandoned homes on the mountainside were demolished. Severe flooding also occurred in the community of Birch River.||Peters Creek in Lockwood crested near 17 feet around 1845E after rising over 11 feet in the vertical. ||The flash flooding transitioned into river flooding along the Gauley, upstream of Summersville Dam, and along the Meadow River and the border with Fayette County.
Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. Electricity was lost to around 13,000 customers. Twelve homes, including mobile homes, were destroyed, 31 had major damage, and 48 others had minor damage. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $500,000.
The mayor of Richwood reported around 30 homes and a business flooded by the waters of the Cheery River, or by runoff from the mountainsides. Most of the homes had less than a foot of water, but 3 homes had more than 2 feet of water inside. A 120 bed nursing home was evacuated. Water also got into the basement of the hospital. Mudslide and high water on Routes 39 and 55, cut off the town of Richwood. Electricity was also out for about 3 hours. Around a dozen homes in Cottle, 12 homes in the Mount Nebo-Mount Lookout area, and 5 homes along the Fayette County border around Nallen, were flooded.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
24,277
Population (ACS)
$122K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Aug 7, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nicholas County, West Virginia?
196 events are on record between 1966 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $30.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nicholas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 85 recorded events — 43.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nicholas County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nicholas County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nicholas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nicholas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nicholas County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 58 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nicholas 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
- Morgan County 240
- Ohio County 265
- Monroe County 167
- Pendleton County 160
- Monongalia County 458
- Pleasants County 91
Cite this page
“Nicholas County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/nicholas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.