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Pleasants County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 91 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,916 nationally and #55 in West Virginia.
91
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$2.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Pleasants County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pleasants County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 1.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 30 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 85 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 $912K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pleasants County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 54 | 0 | $797K | 61 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 16 | 0 | $2K | 1.5 | 1989–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $912K | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $49K | 0 | 2011–2020 |
| Tornado | 2 | 0 | $255K | F2 | 1981–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Pleasants 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-07-28 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 6.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pleasants County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 1981 | 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
Large trees and branches were blown down in scattered locations throughout the county. One house had major damage and 2 others had minor damage. Around 3100 customers were without electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $55,000. ||In the aftermath, there was 1 indirect death. A 38 year old man died. He was riding his 4 wheeler late at night. He struck a tree that had fallen across a road near Arvilla.
Within the area hit by the most rain, an automatic rain gauge southeast of Saint Marys measured 3.78 inches of rain in less than 3 hours. Further to the southwest, a gauge near Willow Island measured 2.83 inches. Streams such as Long Run and Broad Run flooded roads. Streets in Saint Marys were flooded with mud and debris.
A tornado occurred along the Left Fork of French Creek and County Route 20 in eastern Pleasants County. The rating was based on the damage to healthy hardwood trees, with peak wind gusts near 100 mph. Many trees were snapped or uprooted. One small metal outbuilding was destroyed. Thankfully, there were no fatalities or injuries. ||The path of this tornado continued past Old State Road or County Route 3/1 into Ritchie County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,521
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| 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 |
| May 21, 2015 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| May 18, 2015 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pleasants County, West Virginia?
91 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pleasants County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 54 recorded events — 59.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pleasants 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 Pleasants County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pleasants County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pleasants County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pleasants County as very low risk, placing it in the 20 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pleasants 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
- Pendleton County 160
- Pocahontas County 143
- Ohio County 265
- Preston County 457
- Nicholas County 196
- Putnam County 474
Cite this page
“Pleasants County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/pleasants-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.