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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Walker, WV

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Walker, West Virginia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Hugo in 1989. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
5

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
16

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Walker

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Walker, West Virginia, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1989HugoSep 227 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 5
1979FredericSep 143 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1957AudreyJun 283 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1915Unnamed 1915 stormOct 110 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 216 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Walker: 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 Walker

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s4(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s3
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s1
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Walker, West Virginia
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 16, 2010EF314 mi9.05 mi1 / 16
Jul 10, 2003F213 mi2.5 mi0 / 0
Jan 8, 1998F24 mi2 mi0 / 0
Jul 28, 1981F217 mi6.2 mi0 / 8
May 9, 2024EF16 mi3.4 mi0 / 1
Jul 27, 2014EF117 mi4.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 16, 2010EF111 mi0.69 mi0 / 0
Jul 10, 1973F115 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Jun 26, 1951F118 mi0.1 mi0 / 1
Aug 9, 1950F17 mi5 mi0 / 0
Dec 23, 2015EF012 mi0.18 mi0 / 0
May 21, 2001F013 mi0.7 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Walker while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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