NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Barboursville, 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 Barboursville, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Barboursville
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Barboursville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Barboursville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 63 miles away. None of the 7 systems has come since 2000. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site, 45% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Barboursville. The highest rating among the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on March 2, 2012, came within 21 miles. Of the 35, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Barboursville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 92 times since 1977, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Barboursville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 161 West Virginia cities.
Compare Barboursville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Barboursville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Barboursville: 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 Barboursville
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s5(1 EF3+)
- 2000s3
- 1990s5
- 1980s4
- 1970s5
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 21 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 23 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 2 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 7.88 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 23 mi | 6.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Barboursville
The Storm Prediction Center has 92 hail reports within 10 miles of Barboursville since 1977, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 14, 2025. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. June has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Barboursville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pea Ridge Psd, WV, 2 miles north of Barboursville at 584 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 27°F. July is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and October and November the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.8 inches over 93 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 31 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 108 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.8 inches is more than at 41 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (55%). Huntington, 7 miles west, has its own station (Huntington Swg Pl, WV): 45.2 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 27 | 3.4 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Feb | 49 | 29 | 3.3 | 8 | 2.5 |
| Mar | 59 | 35 | 4.2 | 8 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 71 | 44 | 3.9 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 78 | 54 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 86 | 63 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 67 | 5.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 66 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 58 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 71 | 46 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 36 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 48 | 31 | 3.7 | 9 | 0.8 |
| Year | 68 | 46 | 46.8 | 93 | 9.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pea Ridge Psd, WV (584 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 Barboursville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 260 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Barboursville: 172 thunderstorm wind reports, 44 floods, 37 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $7.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on April 2, 2024. July has had the most flash floods, 16 of 37. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 121 have had fewer than Barboursville.
July 14, 2016: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Barboursville — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Barboursville — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
July 24, 2011: lightning strike in Barboursville — 1 injured.
NWS: “A man was in a crawl space under his house to change an air condition filter. As he was changing the filter, lightning struck near his home.”
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 Barboursville's ZIP code 25504 have filed 78 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1978: 16 claims (21% of all) and $68,000. 38% 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, 68 have fewer than Barboursville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Not a named storm1978 | 16 | $68,000 |
Cabell County, which includes Barboursville, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on May 22, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cabell County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $49.3 million a year, the 2nd highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $41.1 million (83%), 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.