Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Ashby, WV

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cumberland 2, MD, 10 miles north of Fort Ashby at 730 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (20.0 of 39.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.3 inches is more than at 6 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (8%). Keyser, 11 miles west, has its own station (Keyser 2 SSW, WV): 41.4 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 167 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Ashby: 111 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 floods and 19 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $318,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 29, 2012. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 19. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 64 have had fewer than Fort Ashby.

Flood insurance policyholders in Fort Ashby's ZIP code 26719 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $115,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 15 claims (58% of all) and $85,000. 65% 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, 34 have fewer than Fort Ashby.