NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belington, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Belington, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isabel in 2003. Since 1950, 14 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 14
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Belington
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Belington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 71 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Belington begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Isabel in 2003, a tropical storm 38 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 2 systems. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Belington has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 72% of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 14 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on July 9, 1980, came within 20 miles. Of the 14, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on June 21, 2016. Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Belington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1979, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Belington.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Belington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 29 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 30 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 Belington: 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 Belington
By decade
- 2010s4
- 1980s3
- 1970s3
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 9, 1980 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 22, 1970 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2016 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2015 | EF1 | 16 mi | 1.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2014 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2014 | EF1 | 24 mi | 4.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1985 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1980 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1975 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1957 | F1 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 1975 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 14, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belington
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Belington since 1979, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 23, 1999. The most recent report is from October 21, 2025. April and May have the most reports, 11 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Belington, WV, 1 mile southeast of Belington at 1,769 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 20°F. May and June are the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.7 inches over 107 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 144 nights a year. Snowfall averages 57.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 51.7 inches is more than at 65 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (87%). Elkins, 10 miles southeast, has its own station (Elkins Randolph Co Airport, WV): 47.4 inches a year, 4.3 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 20 | 3.9 | 11 | 19.2 |
| Feb | 43 | 21 | 3.7 | 9 | 14.4 |
| Mar | 52 | 28 | 4.5 | 11 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 64 | 36 | 4.4 | 9 | 1.2 |
| May | 72 | 46 | 5.5 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 55 | 5.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 58 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 39 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 54 | 30 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 45 | 24 | 4.2 | 10 | 12.9 |
| Year | 63 | 39 | 51.7 | 107 | 57.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Belington, WV (1,769 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 Belington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belington: 90 thunderstorm wind reports, 33 floods, 19 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on February 11, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 11 of 19. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 64 have had fewer than Belington.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Belington — 1 killed, $1.0 million damage.
August 9, 2000: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Belington — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Belington — $1.0 million damage.
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 Belington's ZIP code 26250 have filed 65 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $623,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 27. 12% 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, 62 have fewer than Belington.
Barbour County, which includes Belington, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on August 3, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Barbour County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding 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 $7.7 million a year, the 42nd highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (85%), 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 Belington
- Philippi, WV9 mi
- Elkins, WV10 mi
- Buckhannon, WV14 mi
- Beverly, WV15 mi
- Parsons, WV17 mi
- Flemington, WV18 mi
- French Creek, WV21 mi
- Grafton, WV22 mi
- Mount Clare, WV22 mi
- Lost Creek, WV23 mi
- Bridgeport, WV24 mi
- Huttonsville, WV25 mi
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