NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harpers Ferry, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 88 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 88
- 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 Harpers Ferry
The strongest storm to pass near Harpers Ferry was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Harpers Ferry begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 56 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 25 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Harpers Ferry is tied for the most hurricanes within 75 miles among the 161 West Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 88 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 12 times; the most recent, on September 17, 2004, came within 20 miles. Of the 88, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 47 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Harpers Ferry has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1975, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Harpers Ferry has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 161 West Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harpers Ferry
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 18 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 13 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 36 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Harpers Ferry: 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 Harpers Ferry
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s10
- 2000s26
- 1990s24
- 1980s3
- 1970s8
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 11 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | in town | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 20 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 31, 1978 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1975 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1961 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 88, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harpers Ferry
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Harpers Ferry since 1975, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 26, 2002. The most recent report is from July 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harpers Ferry
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sharpsburg 5 S, MD, 9 miles north of Harpers Ferry at 400 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 43.6 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 43.6 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 43.6 inches is more than at 25 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (33%). Charles Town, 4 miles west, has its own station (Martinsburg E Wv Regional Airport, WV): 39.0 inches a year, 4.6 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 21 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 44 | 23 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 53 | 29 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 65 | 39 | 3.6 |
| May | 74 | 49 | 4.6 |
| Jun | 82 | 58 | 4.2 |
| Jul | 86 | 62 | 4.3 |
| Aug | 85 | 61 | 3.3 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 4.4 |
| Oct | 67 | 42 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 56 | 32 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 3.5 |
| Year | 65 | 41 | 43.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sharpsburg 5 S, MD (400 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 Harpers Ferry
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 454 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harpers Ferry: 365 thunderstorm wind reports, 69 floods, 19 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 2 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $3.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on February 16, 2025. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 19. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 64 have had fewer than Harpers Ferry.
May 3, 2025: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Harpers Ferry — 1 killed, 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
May 14, 2002: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Harpers Ferry — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
NWS: “A woman was killed when a large tree fell onto her car on Route 9 about 3 miles west of the Virginia border.”
November 5, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Harpers Ferry — 3 injured, $100,000 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 Harpers Ferry's ZIP code 25425 have filed 32 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $566,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 11 claims (34% of all) and $275,000. 56% 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, 40 have fewer than Harpers Ferry.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 11 | $275,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Harpers Ferry, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods, 3 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.7 million a year, the 18th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.8 million (69%), 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 Harpers Ferry
- Charles Town, WV4 mi
- Ranson, WV5 mi
- Shenandoah Junction, WV7 mi
- Lovettsville, VA7 mi
- Knoxville, MD8 mi
- Brunswick, MD9 mi
- Purcellville, VA9 mi
- Waterford, VA10 mi
- Kearneysville, WV10 mi
- Round Hill, VA11 mi
- Hamilton, VA11 mi
- Shepherdstown, WV11 mi
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