Huntington
Population 44,815 (2025)
33 tornadoes have tracked within 25 miles of Huntington since 1950, 3 of them rated EF3 or F3 or stronger; the most recent was on April 2, 2024.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths within 25 miles since 195033
- Tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles since 1851, wider where stronger4
- Wildfire burn scars within 25 miles since 198412
- Major flood years since 1978, Cabell County8
At a glance
Tornado paths within 25 miles, tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles and wildfire perimeters within 25 miles of the city centre. Storm events, flood insurance claims and disaster declarations are for Cabell County. Earthquakes within 50 miles, volcanoes within 100 miles and smoke days are measured from the city centre; river and tide gauges, tsunami and landslide records and the drought index are for Cabell County.
Strongest tornado
F5
April 23, 1968, 34.0 mile path
Strongest tropical cyclone
TS
Tropical storm (unnamed), 1888, 32.0 miles away
Tornadoes
About one every 2.3 years since 1950, 3 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
April 23, 1968
F5, 34.0 mile path
400 yards wide; 7 killed along the whole path.
Deadliest
March 2, 2012
10 killed, EF3
118 injured along the whole path.
Most recent
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
EF1, 8.5 mile path
2 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 4.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF1 | 7.9 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 7, 2023 | EF1 | 6.3 | 0 | 0 |
| May 24, 2017 | EF1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 4, 2016 | EF2 | 2.6 | 5 | 0 |
| Jun 4, 2014 | EF1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF1 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 85.0 | 118 | 10 |
| Aug 9, 2000 | F1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 9, 2000 | F1 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 15, 2000 | F2 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 13, 1999 | F1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 0.7 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 31, 1993 | F0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 30, 1993 | F1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 9, 1993 | F0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F2 | 29.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 1980 | F1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 8, 1980 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 2, 1980 | F1 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 5, 1973 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 11, 1971 | F1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 23, 1968 | F5 | 34.0 | 93 | 7 |
| Apr 8, 1965 | F3 | 6.9 | 3 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
- Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.
Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
4 passed within 50 miles since 1851; none at hurricane strength.
Strongest within 50 miles
August 21, 1888
Unnamed storm, Tropical storm
32.0 miles at closest approach, winds near 52 mph.
Most recent
October 5, 1995
Opal, Post-tropical
55.1 miles at closest approach.
Every storm within 100 miles
- Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.
National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.
Wildfire and smoke
12 large fires burned within 25 miles since 1984.
Largest
November 13, 1987
Unnamed Fire, 21,557 acres
24.8 miles from the city centre.
Most recent
October 30, 1991
Prichard Fire
5,217 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Prichard | 1991 | 13.0 | 5,217 |
| Doss Hill Road | 1991 | 20.5 | 742 |
| Dunlow | 1991 | 23.2 | 3,074 |
| Paddle Creek | 1991 | 21.5 | 1,009 |
| Rush Hollow Road | 1988 | 10.9 | 605 |
| Raccoon Creek | 1988 | 10.4 | 599 |
| Unnamed | 1987 | 24.8 | 21,557 |
| Unnamed | 1987 | 15.6 | 2,302 |
| Plum Branch | 1987 | 20.4 | 6,222 |
| Mill Creek Road | 1987 | 23.9 | 7,026 |
| Trace Branch | 1987 | 24.0 | 1,760 |
| Greenbriar Creek | 1987 | 16.9 | 950 |
- Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.
Smoke overhead
Smokiest year
2023: 55 days
Heavy smoke on 15 days in 2023, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
13.9 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
11 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 32 so far in 2026.
- A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.
NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Floods and flood insurance
807 federal flood insurance claims since 1978, with $11.4 million paid.
Flood insurance figures are for Cabell County, the county that contains Huntington.
Most claims in one year
1978: 110 claims
$726,000 paid.
2nd most
1997: 105 claims
$1.6 million paid.
3rd most
2003: 98 claims
$1.4 million paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 25701 | 278 | $5.1 million |
| 25541 | 269 | $3.4 million |
| 25504 | 78 | $1.3 million |
| 25705 | 48 | $401,000 |
| 25702 | 32 | $148,000 |
| 25520 | 29 | $279,000 |
| 25545 | 19 | $201,000 |
| 25510 | 15 | $314,000 |
| 25537 | 11 | $16,000 |
| 25559 | 9 | $20,000 |
| 7 | $62,000 | |
| 25704 | 6 | $81,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Flash Flood61
- Flood48
- Heavy Rain18
5 deaths recorded in flood events since 1996.
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).
OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.
River crests
River gauges in Cabell County, the county that contains Huntington.
Most severe crest
February 17, 2023
Mud River (WV) above Milton, 25.51 ft
6.51 feet above the 19.0 ft flood stage; moderate flooding by today’s categories.
Most recent moderate or major crest
February 17, 2023
Mud River (WV) above Milton, 25.51 ft
Moderate flooding.
| Feb 17, 2023 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 25.51 | +6.51 |
| Mar 1, 2021 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 24.99 | +5.99 |
| Mar 5, 2015 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 22.90 | +3.90 |
| Feb 7, 2025 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 22.41 | +3.41 |
| Apr 5, 2025 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 22.39 | +3.39 |
| Feb 17, 2025 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 20.45 | +1.45 |
| Dec 18, 2019 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 20.21 | +1.21 |
| May 7, 2018 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 19.40 | +0.40 |
| Feb 12, 2020 | Mud River (WV) above Milton | 16.14 | −2.86 |
River gauges
| Mud River (WV) above Milton | 19.0 | 25.51 ft | 0 |
- Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.
NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 114 of 1,581 months since 1895 (7%); the longest spell lasted 14 months.
The drought index is for Cabell County, the county that contains Huntington.
114
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
25
Months in extreme drought
7%
Share of all months, severe or worse
21
Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996
Lowest reading
January 1931
−6.40, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
14 months
June 1930 to July 1931.
Latest month
September 2026
−1.31, mild drought
Last severe month: January 2025.
- The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.
NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.
Earthquakes and landslides
1 earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 4.2 in 1901.
7
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
1
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
0
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
May 17, 1901
Magnitude 4.2
Near Portsmouth, Ohio; 38.5 miles away.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
February 3, 2025
Magnitude 3.1
2 km NNW of Oak Hill, Ohio; 36.1 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| May 17, 1901 | 4.2 | 38.5 |
- Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
- Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.
Mapped landslides
Landslides mapped in Cabell County.
8,885
Landslides mapped, probable or better
6
With a recorded date
2
Source inventories
Mapped by WV GS (8,879), NASA (6).
- Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.
USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
587 events in the National Weather Service record for Cabell County, 534 of them since 1996.
43
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
2
Hail, 2 inches or larger
126
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
59
Winter weather events since 1996
21
Heat events since 1996
28
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
April 14, 2025
2.25 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
April 2, 2024
81 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 4 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. Nearly 33,000 customers lost electricity. Three homes had major damage and 4 others had minor damage. A front canopy sign was ripped off a business in Huntington. A garage roof to a funeral home was damaged in Milton. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $391,000.
- Sep 17, 2004Flood, Cabell$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
As the weakening Hurricane Ivan moved inland across Alabama, light rain began in southern West Virginia on the morning of the 16th. The rain shield moved into northern counties overnight. Heavy rain began before dawn on the 17th around Huntington. The heavier rain moved up the Ohio River counties and engulfed the Ravenswood, Parkersburg, and Sistersville vicinity during the mid morning on the 17th. The heavy rain continue along the Ohio River counties into the mid afternoon, before lifting north and east. The more significant rain rates pivoted through central West Virginia during the late afternoon hours on the 17th before diminishing to drizzle after dark that evening. The low…
- Mar 2, 1997Flash Flood$1.0 million
- Feb 15, 2003Flood, Cabell$1.0 million
National Weather Service narrative
Rains from Friday afternoon, the 14th, into Sunday the 16th were on the order of 3.5 to 4.9 inches, with the maximum over Wayne and Lincoln Counties. Small streams flooded onto roads Saturday evening, the 15th, into early Sunday, the 16th. Major flooding occurred along the Twelvepole Creek in Wayne County including Dunlow, Wayne, and Lavalette. Evacuations occurred along Falls Creek near West Hamlin. The larger rivers, including the Guyandotte, the Mud, the Coal, the Tug Fork, and the lower Elk flooded. Major flooding occurred along the lower portion of the Guyandotte Basin, including the Mud River in Lincoln and Cabell Counties. Communities such as Branchland, West Hamlin, Hamlin…
- May 6, 2022Flash Flood$900,000
National Weather Service narrative
Significant flash flooding occurred in Cabell County. The hardest hit area was the Enslow Park area where over 100 homes and many vehicles were inundated as Fourpole Creek flooded. Some vehicles were swept away. Route 10 was closed due to flash flooding near Huntinton High School, Route 60 was impassable at the East Mall Road intersection in Barboursville, and flood waters entered Davis Creek Elementary School. A 63 year old man drowned in flood waters along Kilgore Creek Road in Milton. The man was working on a farm tractor and high water swept him away.
- Nov 12, 2003Flood, Cabell$850,000
National Weather Service narrative
Rains of 2.5 to 4.75 inches fell from 2200E on the 11th through 1900E on the 12th. Repetitive showers formed, as dew points of 60 to 65 degrees fed the system from Kentucky. The heaviest rain rates came toward the end of this prolong period, mainly from 1530E to 1730E, with rates peaking around an inch per hour. South of the training showers, across Logan and Mingo Counties, the heavy rain was more sudden, the result of the last shot of enhanced rain during the late afternoon. The heaviest rain totals ran west to east, from Wayne County and southern Cabell County, through northern Lincoln County, central Kanawha County, southern Clay County, and into central Nicholas County.…
- Mar 4, 2015Flood$750,000
National Weather Service narrative
Small stream flooding began in scattered locations about the county by early afternoon on the 4th. One example was Lower Creek flooding roads near Milton. Streams near Salt Rock also spilled onto roads. The minor flooding continued into the 7th since the Mud, the Guyandotte, and the Ohio Rivers were all running high.
- Mar 2, 1997Flood, Cabell$700,000
- Jun 23, 1996Flash Flood$700,000
National Weather Service narrative
Major small stream flooding occurred after a second roundof thunderstorms, within 18 hours, dumped about 2 inches ofrain in an hour. A 24 year old woman drowned when her carwashed into Lower Creek, north of Milton. The woman got out of the car, but she was swept away. Her body was found about a mile downstream. Private bridges, farm equipment, 15 homes, and about 15 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. At least one mobile home floated off its foundation. A family of4 escaped their mobile home along Jenkins Creek near Dudley Gapby wading through waist deep water. The water had risen uptothe glass on their sliding doors before they awoke. Johns Branch, Kilgore Creek, and Mill Creek…
- Nov 19, 2003Flood, Cabell$500,000
National Weather Service narrative
Rains of 2 to 4.2 inches fell from 2200E on the 18th through 1600E on the 19th. A strong inflow of moist air from the southeast, helped enhance these rains. The heaviest rain was over the central and southern mountains, say from the Snowshoe region on through Richwood, Beckley, Mullens, and Elkhorn. Some of the preliminary rain totals were 4.2 inches at Snowshoe, 3.9 inches at Richwood, 3.7 inches at Elkhorn, 3.5 inches at Rosedale, 3.3 inches at Frost and Mullens, 3.1 inches at Webster Springs and Glenville, 2.9 inches at Oak Hill and Beckley. Vegetation was dormant for the upcoming winter, the ground saturated, and the waterways were still flowing above normal levels from the…
- Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.
Weather records
From Huntington Tri-state Airport, 7.2 miles from the city centre, with records from 1961.
- All-time high
- 104°FJul 7, 2012
- All-time low
- −21°FJan 19, 1994
- Warmest night
- 78°F4 times, most recently Jul 27, 2023
- Coldest day
- 3°FJan 8, 1970
- Wettest day
- 3.89 inSep 17, 2004
- Snowiest day
- 21.1 inMar 13, 1993
- Hottest year
- 2024mean 60.2°F
- Coldest year
- 1963mean 53.3°F
- Wettest year
- 201162.44 in
- Driest year
- 196329.99 in
- Snowiest season
- 55.7 in1977-78
Median first snow
November 30
Earliest: October 19, 1972
Median last snow
March 20
Latest: May 7, 1989
0 of 63 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Huntington Tri-state Airport (USW00003860), 824 ft elevation, 7.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1961 to October 27, 2026; 99.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.
NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.
Federal disaster declarations
32 since 1953. The most recent: Severe Winter Storm, January 24, 2026.
Declarations for Cabell County.
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | EM-3639-WV |
| May 22, 2024 | Severe Storm | DR-4783-WV |
| May 20, 2021 | Flood | DR-4605-WV |
| May 13, 2021 | Severe Ice Storm | DR-4603-WV |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | DR-4517-WV |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3450-WV |
| Apr 17, 2018 | Mud/Landslide | DR-4359-WV |
| May 21, 2015 | Flood | DR-4221-WV |
| May 14, 2015 | Severe Storm | DR-4219-WV |
| Mar 31, 2015 | Severe Storm | DR-4210-WV |
| Jan 10, 2014 | Chemical | EM-3366-WV |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | EM-3358-WV |
| Jul 23, 2012 | Severe Storm | DR-4071-WV |
| Jun 30, 2012 | Severe Storm | EM-3345-WV |
| May 1, 2007 | Severe Storm | DR-1696-WV |
| Sep 5, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3221-WV |
| Sep 20, 2004 | Severe Storm | DR-1558-WV |
| Jun 7, 2004 | Severe Storm | DR-1522-WV |
| Nov 21, 2003 | Severe Storm | DR-1500-WV |
| Jun 21, 2003 | Severe Storm | DR-1474-WV |
| Mar 14, 2003 | Severe Storm | DR-1455-WV |
| Nov 16, 2001 | Fire | FM-2391-WV |
| Jun 3, 2001 | Severe Storm | DR-1378-WV |
| Feb 28, 2000 | Flood | DR-1319-WV |
| Jul 1, 1998 | Severe Storm | DR-1229-WV |
| Mar 7, 1997 | Flood | DR-1168-WV |
| Aug 14, 1996 | Fire | DR-1132-WV |
| Jan 13, 1996 | Snowstorm | DR-1084-WV |
| Mar 17, 1993 | Snowstorm | EM-3109-WV |
| Dec 14, 1978 | Flood | DR-569-WV |
| Apr 7, 1977 | Flood | DR-531-WV |
| Mar 13, 1967 | Flood | DR-224-WV |
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).
OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
- Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
- Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
- Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
- Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
- Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00003860.
- River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
- Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
- Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
- Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.
Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.