NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sissonville, 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 Sissonville, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hugo in 1989. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 25
- 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 Sissonville
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sissonville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. The record near Sissonville begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was Hugo in 1989, a tropical storm 8 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 Sissonville. The strongest of the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF2 on April 2, 2024; its path came within 7 miles. Of the 25, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on May 26, 2024. Sissonville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 60% of the 161 West Virginia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 50 times since 1983, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 161 West Virginia cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sissonville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sissonville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | AudreyJun 28 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 18 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 41 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 Sissonville: 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 Sissonville
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s5
- 2000s2
- 1990s5
- 1980s3
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 7 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 15 mi | 2.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 5.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 12 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 2019 | EF1 | 12 mi | 7.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2016 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.06 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 13, 1999 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 12, 1989 | F1 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sissonville
The Storm Prediction Center has 50 hail reports within 10 miles of Sissonville since 1983, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 22, 2008. The most recent report is from May 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sissonville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Charleston Yeager Airport, WV, 11 miles south of Sissonville at 910 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 26°F. July is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 93 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 94 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.4 inches is more than at 39 of the 75 West Virginia stations used on this site (52%). Kenna, 7 miles north, has its own station (Ripley, WV): 46.2 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 26 | 3.3 | 8 | 10.3 |
| Feb | 48 | 29 | 3.4 | 8 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 57 | 35 | 4.1 | 9 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 69 | 45 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 76 | 53 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 66 | 5.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 64 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 80 | 57 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.2 | 6 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 48 | 30 | 3.6 | 8 | 5.0 |
| Year | 67 | 46 | 46.4 | 93 | 31.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Charleston Yeager Airport, WV (910 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 Sissonville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sissonville: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 26 floods, 23 flash floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $37.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 24, 2019. Of the 161 West Virginia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 85 have had fewer than Sissonville.
June 23, 2016: flood 6 miles from the centre of Sissonville — 2 killed, $26.0 million damage.
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind in Sissonville — $6.0 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and large branches were blown down in the county. Seven homes were destroyed, 20 had major damage, and another 86 dwellings had minor damage.”
May 26, 2018: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Sissonville — $3.0 million 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 Sissonville's ZIP code 25320 have filed 194 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1998: 105 claims (54% of all) and $2.6 million, then Not a named storm in 1978 with 12 and Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 10. 66% 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, 103 have fewer than Sissonville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1998 | 105 | $2.6 million |
| Not a named storm1978 | 12 | $51,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 10 | $641,000 |
Kanawha County, which includes Sissonville, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1967, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 10 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kanawha County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $142.9 million a year, the highest of 55 West Virginia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $132.7 million (93%), 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 Sissonville
- Kenna, WV7 mi
- Poca, WV10 mi
- Elkview, WV10 mi
- Cross Lanes, WV10 mi
- Charleston, WV13 mi
- Dunbar, WV13 mi
- Nitro, WV14 mi
- Red House, WV14 mi
- South Charleston, WV14 mi
- Saint Albans, WV15 mi
- Winfield, WV15 mi
- Scott Depot, WV16 mi
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