NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kenova, 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 Kenova, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Opal in 1995. Since 1950, 29 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 29
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Kenova
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kenova; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Kenova begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Opal in 1995, a tropical storm 49 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 Kenova. The strongest of the 29 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 23, 1968; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 7 people. The deadliest, an EF3 on March 2, 2012, killed 10 people. Of the 29, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Kenova has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 139 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Kenova is tied for the most hail reports within 10 miles among the 161 West Virginia cities.
Compare Kenova's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kenova
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | OpalOct 5 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 29 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 Kenova: 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 Kenova
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s4(1 EF3+)
- 2000s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s5
- 1970s2
- 1960s2(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 24 mi | 34 mi | 7 / 93 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 23 mi | 84.99 mi | 10 / 118 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 3 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 11 mi | 1.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.63 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 7 mi | 29.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 4.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 6 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 8 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 29, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kenova
The Storm Prediction Center has 139 hail reports within 10 miles of Kenova since 1962, made on 70 separate days. Of these, 74 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 23, 1962. The most recent report is from April 29, 2025. May has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kenova
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Huntington Tri State Airport, WV, 2 miles southeast of Kenova at 824 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 26°F. July is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 45.3 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 90 nights a year. Snowfall averages 19.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.3 inches is more than at 33 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (44%). South Point, OH, 4 miles north, has its own station (S Pt, OH): 49.7 inches a year, 4.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 43 | 26 | 3.1 | 7 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 47 | 29 | 3.4 | 7 | 5.8 |
| Mar | 57 | 36 | 4.2 | 8 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 69 | 46 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.3 |
| May | 76 | 54 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 65 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 58 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 46 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 37 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 47 | 30 | 3.6 | 7 | 2.7 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 45.3 | 86 | 19.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Huntington Tri State Airport, WV (824 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 Kenova
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 426 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kenova: 279 thunderstorm wind reports, 70 flash floods, 61 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $11.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on March 1, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 24 of 70. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 152 have had fewer than Kenova.
May 6, 2022: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Kenova — 1 killed, $900,000 damage.
July 14, 2016: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Kenova — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.
July 25, 2005: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Kenova — 1 killed, $1,000 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
Wayne County, which includes Kenova, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 9 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 hurricanes). 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 Wayne County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $30.9 million a year, the 8th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.4 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.