NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kingwood, 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 Kingwood, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isabel in 2003. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Kingwood
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kingwood; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 69 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Kingwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Isabel in 2003, a tropical storm 13 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 2 systems. Of the 9 systems, one has come since 2000. Kingwood 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 32 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 3, 1980, passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F1 on June 16, 1982, killed 1 person. Of the 32, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 11 each. The most recent tornado was on May 11, 2024. Kingwood has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 80% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 53 times since 1981, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Kingwood.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kingwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kingwood: 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 Kingwood
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s6
- 2000s2
- 1990s3
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1967 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | in town | 29.8 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 17 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1977 | F2 | 8 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 13, 1971 | F2 | 16 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 7, 1967 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F1 | 15 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 23 mi | 3.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2017 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2014 | EF1 | 15 mi | 4.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kingwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 53 hail reports within 10 miles of Kingwood since 1981, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 7, 2023. The most recent report is from May 4, 2025. May and August have the most reports, 13 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kingwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Terra Alta #1, WV, 8 miles east of Kingwood at 2,630 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 18°F. July is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 57.1 inches over 120 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs of 90°F are rare: fewer than one day a year on average. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 171.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 57.1 inches is more than at 72 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (96%). Reedsville, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Morgantown Hart Field, WV): 43.2 inches a year, 13.9 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 77°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 18 | 4.7 | 12 | 44.1 |
| Feb | 38 | 20 | 4.3 | 11 | 36.3 |
| Mar | 46 | 26 | 5.0 | 11 | 28.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 5.0 | 11 | 12.1 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 5.4 | 11 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 73 | 54 | 5.6 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 77 | 58 | 5.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 76 | 57 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 51 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 40 | 3.8 | 8 | 3.7 |
| Nov | 49 | 30 | 3.9 | 9 | 15.7 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 4.6 | 11 | 30.9 |
| Year | 57 | 38 | 57.1 | 120 | 171.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Terra Alta #1, WV (2,630 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 Kingwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 188 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kingwood: 164 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 29, 2012. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 18. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 59 have had fewer than Kingwood.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Kingwood — 2 injured, $55,000 damage.
July 8, 2014: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Kingwood — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency management reported a tree down on a car. The driver was trapped and injured.”
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 Kingwood's ZIP code 26537 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1981, and were paid $101,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 42% 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, 7 have fewer than Kingwood.
Preston County, which includes Kingwood, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 6 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). 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 Preston County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.1 million a year, the 37th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.5 million (82%), 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 Kingwood
- Albright, WV6 mi
- Reedsville, WV6 mi
- Tunnelton, WV7 mi
- Masontown, WV8 mi
- Terra Alta, WV8 mi
- Bruceton Mills, WV13 mi
- Morgantown, WV17 mi
- Oakland, MD17 mi
- Grafton, WV20 mi
- Friendsville, MD20 mi
- Maidsville, WV21 mi
- Point Marion, PA22 mi
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