NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ripley, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Ripley, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hugo in 1989. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 18
- 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 Ripley
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Ripley; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 22 miles away. The record near Ripley begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm 2 miles away. None of the 6 systems has come since 2000. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site, 68% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Ripley. The strongest of the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on September 16, 2010; its path came within 22 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 18, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 7. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ripley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 55 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ripley.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Ripley
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 22 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 Ripley: 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 Ripley
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s5(1 EF3+)
- 2000s3
- 1990s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF3 | 22 mi | 9.05 mi | 1 / 16 |
| Mar 13, 1967 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2016 | EF1 | 11 mi | 0.06 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2007 | EF1 | 12 mi | 1.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1989 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 1989 | F1 | 24 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1963 | F1 | 11 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1951 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 26, 2024 | EF0 | 21 mi | 0.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ripley
The Storm Prediction Center has 55 hail reports within 10 miles of Ripley since 1975, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 26, 2015. The most recent report is from May 13, 2025. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ripley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ripley, WV, 1 mile north of Ripley at 608 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.2 inches over 91 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 113 nights a year. Snowfall averages 11.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.2 inches is more than at 36 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (48%). Leon, 11 miles west, has its own station (Southside 3 NNW, WV): 46.3 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 85°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 22 | 3.1 | 8 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 48 | 24 | 3.3 | 8 | 1.4 |
| Mar | 57 | 30 | 4.2 | 9 | 1.4 |
| Apr | 70 | 40 | 3.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 78 | 50 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 59 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 63 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 55 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 42 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 58 | 32 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 48 | 27 | 3.7 | 8 | 2.3 |
| Year | 68 | 42 | 46.2 | 91 | 11.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ripley, WV (608 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 Ripley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ripley: 80 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 14 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 7 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 26, 2015. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 24. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 92 have had fewer than Ripley.
December 6, 2014: heavy rain event 6 miles from the centre of Ripley — 5 killed, 2 injured, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “A SUV traveling northbound on Interstate 77 lost control on wet pavement and veered into the median. This occurred at mile marker 143 between Ripley and Ravenswood.”
June 23, 2016: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Ripley — 1 killed, $500,000 damage.
April 16, 2011: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Ripley — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Streams overflowed onto the usual low spots. Shortly after 0900E, a 79 year old man was heading back home after a church pancake breakfast.”
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 Ripley's ZIP code 25271 have filed 93 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1978: 32 claims (34% of all) and $148,000, then Flooding in 1998 with 29. 68% 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, 78 have fewer than Ripley.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Not a named storm1978 | 32 | $148,000 |
| Flooding1998 | 29 | $468,000 |
Jackson County, which includes Ripley, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 8 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.4 million a year, the 24th highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.6 million (88%), 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 Ripley
- Leon, WV11 mi
- Ravenswood, WV12 mi
- Kenna, WV13 mi
- Racine, OH16 mi
- Letart, WV17 mi
- Sissonville, WV19 mi
- Spencer, WV20 mi
- Red House, WV20 mi
- Point Pleasant, WV22 mi
- Poca, WV22 mi
- Winfield, WV23 mi
- Elizabeth, WV24 mi
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