NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Alderson, WV
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Alderson, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 10
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Alderson
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Alderson; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1878, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 57 miles away. The record near Alderson begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 64 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1930s, with 2 systems. Of the 7 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site, 45% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Alderson. The highest rating among the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 4, 1974, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 4, 1974, killed 1 person. Of the 10, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and none has come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on June 22, 1990. Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 80% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Alderson. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Alderson.
Compare Alderson's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Alderson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 18 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Alderson: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Alderson
By decade
- 1990s1
- 1970s6(2 EF3+)
- 1960s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 32.2 mi | 1 / 11 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Jun 22, 1990 | F2 | 10 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F2 | 10 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1975 | F2 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1966 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1962 | F1 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 4, 1974 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1970 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Alderson
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Alderson since 1994, made on 16 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on May 26, 2011. The most recent report is from June 21, 2020. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Alderson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Alderson, WV, in Alderson at 1,552 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 22°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and October and November the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 40.7 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.2 inches a year, most of it in February. That 40.7 inches is more than at 10 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (13%). Ronceverte, 10 miles east, has its own station (Lewisburg 3 N, WV): 41.6 inches a year, 0.9 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 22 | 3.0 | 7 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 2.9 | 6 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 54 | 30 | 3.8 | 8 | 2.0 |
| Apr | 66 | 39 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 75 | 49 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 68 | 41 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 55 | 30 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.0 |
| Year | 65 | 41 | 40.7 | 85 | 12.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Alderson, WV (1,552 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Alderson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 116 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Alderson: 80 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 floods, 14 flash floods and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on October 9, 2009. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 38 have had fewer than Alderson.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Alderson — 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds downed hundreds of trees and many power lines across the county. The greatest concentration of downed trees was to the north and west of Union.”
June 19, 2020: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Alderson — $900,000 damage.
NWS: “Severe flash flooding closed Route 12 and Route 63 into Alderson. Up to 12 homes received flood damage on the Greenbrier side of Alderson and several road culverts were destroyed.”
June 19, 2020: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Alderson — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Reports mentioned up to 25 homes damaged on the Monroe County side of Alderson. Two homes suffered severe structural damage when basement walls were caved.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Alderson's ZIP code 24910 have filed 275 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 129 claims (47% of all) and $2.8 million, then Summer severe storms in 2016 with 97. 82% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 131 West Virginia cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 112 have fewer than Alderson.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 129 | $2.8 million |
| Summer severe storms2016 | 97 | $2.1 million |
Greenbrier County, which includes Alderson, has been named in 27 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 7 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on February 26, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Greenbrier County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.5 million a year, the 12th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.2 million (71%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Alderson
- Ronceverte, WV10 mi
- Hinton, WV12 mi
- Lewisburg, WV13 mi
- Meadow Bridge, WV13 mi
- Rainelle, WV18 mi
- Shady Spring, WV19 mi
- Peterstown, WV22 mi
- Daniels, WV24 mi
- White Sulphur Springs, WV25 mi
- Beaver, WV25 mi
- Cool Ridge, WV25 mi
- Athens, WV27 mi
All West Virginia cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Alderson with another place →