Live
Active alerts for this county
Heat Advisory
Greenup; Carter; Boyd; Lawrence; Perry; Morgan; Athens; Washington; Jackson; Vinton; Meigs; Gallia; Lawrence; Wayne; Cabell; Mason; Jackson; Wood; Pleasants; Tyler; Lincoln; Putnam; Kanawha; Roane; Wirt; Calhoun; Ritchie; Doddridge; Mingo; Logan; Boone; Clay; Braxton; Gilmer; Lewis; Harrison
Wirt County, West Virginia severe weather history spans 107 recorded events between 1981 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,862 nationally and #54 in West Virginia.
107
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$3.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Wirt County, West Virginia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wirt County, West Virginia severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 30 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 103 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.6M 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 Wirt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 63 | 0 | $1.6M | 78 | 1981–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $1.4M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 16 | 0 | $35K | 2 | 1989–2025 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $140K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $75K | EF1 | 2010–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Wirt 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
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-09-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous trees and large branches were blown down in scattered locations in the county. Roof and porch damage occurred in Elizabeth. All total, 4 houses had major damage and 8 others had minor damage. Around 4,000 customers lost electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $39,000.
Trees and large braches fell throughout the town. Tree branches from 5 different trees fell on one house. Roofs of baseball dugouts were tore off. The emergency manager said, We've seen blizzards and snow storms which have dropped a lot of trees, but never a thunderstorm that has done this much damage to one area.
Tree damage occured along portions of State Route 5 about 3.5 miles eastsoutheast of Palestine. Numerous hardwoods were topped halfway down their trunks. Several very large softwoods were either topped or uprooted. The orientation of the damage conformed to a converging wind flow. The maximum wind gust of 100 mph was estimated. The maximum width was around 175 yards. A brick chimney became detached from a house and collapsed. A few small outbuildings were also destroyed. Power outages were common.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,053
Population (ACS)
$116K
Median home value
21
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 |
| Mar 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Wirt County, West Virginia?
107 events are on record between 1981 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wirt County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 63 recorded events — 58.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wirt County?
1 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 Wirt County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wirt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wirt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wirt County as very low risk, placing it in the 9 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wirt 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
- Wetzel County 200
- Wood County 446
- Webster County 197
- Wyoming County 223
- Wayne County 366
- Upshur County 280
Cite this page
“Wirt County, West Virginia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/west-virginia/wirt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.