NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Martinsburg, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Martinsburg, West Virginia since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 63 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 21
- Tornadoes
- 63
- 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 Martinsburg
The strongest storm to pass near Martinsburg was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Martinsburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 45 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 24 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Martinsburg is tied for the most hurricanes within 75 miles among the 161 West Virginia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 63 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 7 times; the most recent, on September 17, 2004, came within 21 miles. Of the 63, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Martinsburg has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 103 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Martinsburg has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 161 West Virginia cities.
Compare Martinsburg's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Martinsburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 30 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 2 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 51 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Martinsburg: 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 Martinsburg
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s7
- 2000s17
- 1990s21
- 1980s1
- 1970s5
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | 12 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1975 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1961 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 3, 2021 | EF1 | 12 mi | 1.81 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 8, 2014 | EF1 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2011 | EF1 | 19 mi | 2.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 63, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Martinsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 103 hail reports within 10 miles of Martinsburg since 1968, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 75 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 26, 2002. The most recent report is from May 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Martinsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Martinsburg 2, WV, in Martinsburg at 460 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 23°F. May and September are the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 41.4 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 (21.2 of 41.4 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 119 nights a year. That 41.4 inches is more than at 14 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (19%). Inwood, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Martinsburg E Wv Regional Airport, WV): 39.0 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 23 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 54 | 30 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Apr | 66 | 40 | 3.6 | 8 |
| May | 75 | 51 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Jun | 83 | 60 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 86 | 62 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 79 | 54 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 67 | 43 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Nov | 56 | 33 | 3.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 45 | 27 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Year | 65 | 42 | 41.4 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Martinsburg 2, WV (460 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 Martinsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 410 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Martinsburg: 290 thunderstorm wind reports, 106 floods, 13 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $6.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 83 mph, on March 13, 2001. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 30 have had fewer than Martinsburg.
May 13, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Martinsburg — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
January 5, 2005: flood 3 miles from the centre of Martinsburg — $5.2 million damage.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Martinsburg — $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 Martinsburg's 4 ZIP codes have filed 147 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 42 claims (29% of all) and $979,000, then Hurricane Fran in 1996 with 24. 48% 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, 94 have fewer than Martinsburg.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 42 | $979,000 |
| Hurricane Fran1996 | 24 | $376,000 |
Berkeley County, which includes Martinsburg, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berkeley County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $35.2 million a year, the 5th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.2 million (71%), 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 Martinsburg
- Inwood, WV7 mi
- Hedgesville, WV8 mi
- Kearneysville, WV8 mi
- Shepherdstown, WV8 mi
- Falling Waters, WV9 mi
- Shenandoah Junction, WV10 mi
- Gerrardstown, WV10 mi
- Bunker Hill, WV10 mi
- Sharpsburg, MD11 mi
- Williamsport, MD12 mi
- Ranson, WV12 mi
- Charles Town, WV14 mi
All West Virginia cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Martinsburg with another place →