NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Masontown, 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
10 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Masontown, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 37
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Masontown
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Masontown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 68 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Masontown begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 72 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 2 systems. Of the 10 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Masontown has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 80% of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site. The strongest of the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 3, 1980; its path came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on June 16, 1982, killed 1 person. Of the 37, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on March 16, 2025. Masontown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 85% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 87 times since 1981, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Masontown has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 161 West Virginia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Masontown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 29 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 26 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 Masontown: 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 Masontown
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s7
- 2000s2
- 1990s4
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 4 mi | 29.8 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1986 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 20, 1977 | F2 | 14 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 13, 1971 | F2 | 12 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 7, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1982 | F1 | 8 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 2025 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 3.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.24 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 15, 2018 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Masontown
The Storm Prediction Center has 87 hail reports within 10 miles of Masontown since 1981, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 50 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 7, 2023. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. June and August have the most reports, 20 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Masontown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Morgantown Hart Field, WV, 9 miles northwest of Masontown at 1,240 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 24°F. July is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 43.2 inches over 93 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (22.2 of 43.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 3.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 43.2 inches is more than at 21 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (28%). Kingwood, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Terra Alta #1, WV): 57.1 inches a year, 13.9 more than here, and a July average high of 77°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 24 | 3.1 | 8 |
| Feb | 44 | 26 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Mar | 53 | 33 | 3.7 | 9 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.9 | 9 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.3 | 10 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.1 | 9 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Oct | 66 | 45 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Nov | 54 | 36 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Dec | 44 | 29 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 64 | 44 | 43.2 | 93 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Morgantown Hart Field, WV (1,240 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 Masontown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 282 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Masontown: 231 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 flash floods, 12 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 19 of 37. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 121 have had fewer than Masontown.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind in Masontown — 2 injured, $55,000 damage.
NWS: “Between 730 and 750 PM EDT, several microbursts occurred in Preston County. Many roads were closed by the blowing down of numerous large trees.”
July 8, 2014: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Masontown — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
July 12, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Masontown — $525,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees down. Numerous houses, apartments, mobile homes suffered damage from wind and floods.”
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
Preston County, which includes Masontown, 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 Masontown
- Reedsville, WV4 mi
- Kingwood, WV8 mi
- Albright, WV9 mi
- Morgantown, WV9 mi
- Bruceton Mills, WV12 mi
- Tunnelton, WV13 mi
- Maidsville, WV13 mi
- Point Marion, PA14 mi
- Terra Alta, WV15 mi
- Smithfield, PA16 mi
- Rivesville, WV18 mi
- Fairchance, PA18 mi
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