Wheeling

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. 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.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. 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.

Smoke overhead

1. 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.

Flood insurance figures are for Ohio County, the county that contains Wheeling.

Claims by ZIP code

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 Ohio County, the county that contains Wheeling.

River gauges

1. 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.

The drought index is for Ohio County, the county that contains Wheeling.

1. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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 Ohio County.

Mapped by WV GS (2,514), NASA (3).

1. 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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Ohio$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 3 PM EDT on 17th, a trailer court was washed away, about 5 miles north of Wheeling, where Short Creek meets the Ohio River. By 4 PM, many roads were closed by flood around Wheeling, after 7.3 inches of rain. By 9 AM on 18th, major flooding continued on creeks emptying into the Ohio River. A total of 599 structures, were damaged or destroyed, including 1 school. Route 2 was closed by mud slides. Several businesses suffered major damage from flooding of Wheeling Creek, along Route 40, east of downtown Wheeling. Many homes in Wheeling Island were flooded well up into the first floor. Major business establishment on south end of Wheeling Island had much damage. Most small stream…

2. Jan 5, 2005Flood, Ohio$5.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   By 10 PM on 5th, Rte 40 near Wheeling began to flood. By 9 AM on 6th, flooding caused numerous mud slides along Rte 2. As the Ohio River rose, 14 coal-filled barges broke loose; some passed through the Pike Island Dam and slammed into the I-70 bridge carrying traffic over Wheeling Island around 9 AM on the 6th. The bridge was closed temporarily for inspection. On the Ohio River, Pike Island was above flood stage (37 ft), from 11 AM on 6th to 730 AM on 8th; it crested 43.0 ft 7 AM on 7th. On the Ohio River, Wheeling was above flood stage (36 ft), from 1030 AM on 6th to 11 AM on 8th; it crested 42.2 ft 9 AM on 7th. On Wheeling Creek, Elm Grove was above flood stage (7 ft), from 130…

3. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Ohio$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding from the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers met nearly simultaneously at the Point in Pittsburgh. The flood waters then flowed down the Ohio River. Widespread one to two inch rains, plus runoff from snowmelt in the West Virginia and Maryland mountains, combined to create major flooding along the Ohio River. The Ohio River went above flood stage at East Liverpool, Ohio around 10 pm EST on the 19th. The river crested 10.8 feet above the 14 foot flood stage at East Liverpool. Subsequent rises downstream on the Ohio River were not as pronounced, (5.4 feet above flood stage at Hannibal, Ohio). Nonetheless, damages due to flooding to cities, industry, bridges, and communities,…

4. Jun 14, 2025Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Reports of flash flooding began to come in around 8:30pm, starting near Peters Run Road and Battle Run Road. The water quickly rose along Little Wheeling Creek and the tributaries into Little Wheeling Creek. Emergency management reported at 9pm that there were several water rescues involving stranded vehicles and water rescues from buildings, especially along Route 40/National Road from Elm Grove to the PA State line.

5. Apr 2, 2024Flash Flood$570,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Media reported that flooding was occurring along Middle Creek and pushing large tree branches into a bridge. Ohio County declared $256,000 in damage from storms between April 2-6th.

6. Dec 23, 2022Cold/Wind Chill, Ohio$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dangerous wind chills accompanied a low pressure system on December 23th. Lowest wind chill values occurred early afternoon on December 23rd, temperatures were below zero and gusts were 30 to 35mph. Additionally, the Wheeling Clinic had ruptured pipes due to prolong cold temperatures. Water pipes on the fourth floor ruptured and caused water to run down through the third, second, and first floor. Story: https://wtov9.com/news/local/cleanup-continues-after-ruptured-pipes-flood-parts-of-wheeling-clinic.

7. Jun 14, 2025Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Both the public and trained spotters reported flooding on National Road in Woodsdale.

8. Apr 11, 2024Flash Flood$333,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County Highway 25 closed due to flooding. Ohio County declared $333,000 in damage from storms between April 11th-12th.

9. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Ohio$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure from the remains of Hurricane Ike moved across central Ohio to Lake Erie on the evening of September 14th and produced very strong winds into the early morning of September 15th across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Widespread damage to trees and power lines was reported across the region with power outages and damage to some structures from falling trees. Power was not restored to some rural areas for one week after the storm. At the peak of the storm more than 2 million homes were without power. For a period of about 8 hours, sustained winds during the storm were from 30 to 50 MPH, with gusts well over 60 MPH. The highest reported…

10. Aug 20, 2014Flash Flood$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Emergency management reported flash flooding in Wheeling with water over 4 foot deep flowing across U.S. 40 closing the road. Water was in the lower floors of some buildings.

1. 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.

All-time high

99°FAug 27, 1948

All-time low

−10°FJan 7, 2014

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jun 29, 2024

Coldest day

5°FJan 7, 2014

Wettest day

4.12 inSep 29, 2015

Hottest year

2024mean 56.7°F

Coldest year

2014mean 50.2°F

Wettest year

201857.65 in

Driest year

202429.18 in

Station Wheeling Ohio County Airport (USW00014894), 1,195 ft elevation, 7.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 94.6% 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.

Declarations for Ohio County.

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.

• 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 USW00014894.
• 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.