Washington County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Washington County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by NASA (1).

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, Washington$17.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Light rain spread north into southeast Ohio during the afternoon and evening hours of the 16th. The heavier rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan developed over Lawrence County before dawn on Friday the 17th, reaching the Athens and Marietta vicinity by 0900E on the 17th. By 1700E the heavy rain was pulling east and northeast, out of southeast Ohio. A rain event of 24 to 30 hours dumped 4 to 6.5 inches of rain. Some specific preliminary totals included Beverly 6.4 inches, McArthur 6 inches, McConnelsville 5.5 inches, Athens and Waterloo 5.1 inches, Marietta and Newport 4.8 inches, Gallipolis 4.3 inches, and Nelsonville 4 inches. Rains were not as heavy over central and northern…

2. Jun 27, 1998Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The second night of thunderstorms hit during Saturday night the 27th, into Sunday morning, the 28th. Portions of Athens, Washington, and Meigs Counties were hit hard by flooding from this round. The third night of thunderstorms was on Sunday the 28th into Monday the 29th. The final night was a bit further south and west, hitting Jackson County the hardest, but still affecting areas previously under water. Total three day rains of 6 to 12 inches fell from the East Branch of the Shade River across northeastern Meigs County on north, into the lower Muskingum River drainage. An unofficial rain gauge near Tuppers Plain of Meigs County reported 11.5 inches. An automatic rain gauge near…

3. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Scattered locations throughout the county had trees or large branches blown down. Nine of the 10 power substations in the county were in the dark. Nearly 25,000 customers lost electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $975,000.

4. Jun 27, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous large trees were blown down by strong wind gusts. The wind was associated with a bow echo configuration to the thunderstorms. Wind gusts of around 70 mph likely occurred. Several homes and businesses were hit by fallen trees. Residents described the aftermath in the hardest hit portions of downtown Marietta as looking like a war zone.

5. Jan 5, 2005Flood, Washington$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Separate waves of rain moved along a strong west to east frontal zone in the Ohio Valley, from late on the 3rd into the early morning hours of the 8th. To the south of the boundary, dew points were in the 50 to 55 degree range. The heaviest rain amounts were from Perry County on north and east into eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Preliminary 5 day totals were 5.2 inches for New Lexington, 4.6 inches at McConnelsville, 4.5 inches at Nelsonville, 4.2 inches at McArthur and Beverly, 3.4 inches at Athens, and 2.9 inches at Marietta. Small stream flooding started during the morning hours on the 5th, across Perry, Athens, Morgan, Vinton, and Washington Counties. Some of the…

6. Jan 4, 2004Flood, Washington$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong frontal boundary pushed across southeast Ohio late on the 3rd. By dawn on the 4th, the frontal zone stalled just to the south. Late on the 4th and into the 5th, a low pressure wave lifted northeast, along this boundary, and through the Ohio River Valley.Rains of 1.5 to 3.3 inches fell on saturated ground, during about a 36 hour time span. One rain maximum extended northeast from the Scioto River Valley, across the northern half of Perry County, then continued northeast into the Muskingum River Valley. Another maximum of rain extended out of central Vinton County, across central Athens County, and into central and northern Washington County. McArthur measured 3.3 inches of…

7. Jan 20, 1996Flood, Washington$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a result of rain and melted snow in Pennsylvania, West Virginia,and western Maryland, the Ohio River crested 3 to 6 feet aboveflood stage from Marietta to Ironton. The crest at the Corps ofEngineers gauge at Marietta was 39.3 feet, Pomeroy reached 50.5 feet, Gallipolis saw 51.6 feet. This crest was slightly greater than the crest in January, 1994. A flood of equal magnitude occurred in February, 1979. In Washington County, 28 structures were reported destroyed, Meigs County had 20 dwelling destroyed,while Lawrence County had 19 destroyed.

8. Mar 1, 1997Flash Flood$500,000
9. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. One massive tree fell onto a house along Montgomery Street.

10. Sep 8, 2004Flood, Washington$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The low pressure remains of Hurricane Frances caused about a 30 hour rain event, from the afternoon of the 7th, into the evening hours of the 8th. A stalled frontal boundary helped trigger heavier convection on the northern, or leading edge, of the rain shield during the late afternoon and evening of the 7th. This initial convection caused the heavier storm totals to be over Morgan and Perry Counties, compared to points further south. Storm totals of 4 to 7 inches were common, with isolated amounts both above and below those totals. Some specific preliminary totals include New Lexington with 7.5 inches, McConnelsville 6.6 inches, McArthur 6.3 inches, Salem Center 5.7 inches,…

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

105°FJul 18, 1988

All-time low

−26°FJan 20, 1994

Warmest night

82°FJul 21, 1930

Coldest day

−4°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.39 inAug 8, 2023

Snowiest day

18.0 inJan 18, 1994

Hottest year

2024mean 59.1°F

Coldest year

1992mean 51.4°F

Wettest year

201860.35 in

Driest year

193019.70 in

Snowiest season

54.9 in1935-36

Station Parkersburg (USW00013867), 620 ft elevation, 9.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1926 to August 31, 2026; 91.0% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00013867.
• 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.