72
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$538K
Property damage
Flash Flood in Preston County, West Virginia: 72 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #322 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Preston County, West Virginia: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Preston County is the 2000s, when 39 of the county's 72 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 Preston County archive, flash flood makes up 15.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #322 for this hazard and #6 within West Virginia, putting it in the 89.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Preston County with 19 recorded events, while Mar 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2025 | FELLOWSVILLE | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | BULL RUN | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | BRETZ | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | MASONTOWN | 0 | $1K |
| Jun 15, 2025 | HEYDON | 0 | $15K |
| Jun 15, 2025 | LENOX | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 15, 2025 | ALBRIGHT | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2025 | ORIOLE | 0 | $5K |
| Sep 1, 2021 | TUNNELTON | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | TERRA ALTA | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Preston County
- Thunderstorm Wind 268
- Hail 81
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Strong thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall, which caused flooding in the towns of Newburg and Tunnelton. Approximately 30 homes reported basement flooding, and a mudslide above the former Newburg School damaged another home. Several roads in the area were closed from the flooding, and a one-lane bridge on a dirt road off SR 92 was washed out.
Heavy thunderstorm rains forced creeks out of their banks at several locations across the county, including Rowlesburg and Terra Alta. In Etam, Buffalo Creek overflowed its banks producing roadway and basement flooding. In the far southern portion of the county, 13 campers had to be rescued from the Cheat River by a U.S. Army UH60 helicopter. The campers had set up on Landboc Island, which is a small island of about an acre in the section of the river known as Seven Islands. The island is accessible only by a low-water bridge, which was flooded out as the Cheat River started rising quickly. No injuries were reported.
At 1145 AM EDT, flooding was first reported when streams covered roads near Bruceton Mills. By 1215 PM EDT, there were floods and mud slides in Albright and Victoria Hollow. By 1250 PM EDT, SR 50 in Fellowsville flooded; while flooding continued in Bruceton Mills.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Preston County, West Virginia?
72 flash flood events are recorded in Preston County between 1996 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Preston County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Preston County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Preston 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 Preston County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/preston-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.