Fayette County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. 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

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 WV GS (3,947), NASA (5).

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. Jul 8, 2001Flash Flood$47.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The area from around Mount Olive on south to include Cannelton, Smithers, Gauley Bridge, Kanawha Falls, Beckwith, Beards Fork, Page, Wriston, Kincaid, Ansted, Fayetteville, Oak Hill, Pax, and Mindon were hit the hardest in the county. Severe flash flooding occurred along such streams as Smithers Creek, Scrabble Creek, Loop Creek, Laurel Creek, Armstrong Creek, Paint Creek, and Arbuckle Creek. Dwellings along steep slopes, but well away from streams, also sustained damaged from debris slides. These slides contained rock, mud, and trees, as the topsoil turned to a liquid. One example was in communities of Falls View and Gauley Bridge. Homeowners there tried to divert runoff away…

2. Aug 15, 2022Flash Flood$9.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water from an overflowing Smithers Creek spilled onto Cannelton Hollow Road in the town of Smithers. This resulted in extensive flooding of several homes and a few businesses located along Cannelton Hollow Road. Severe flooding was also observed in the Scrabble Creek area.

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

   Numerous trees and large branches were blown down. Nearly 23,000 customers lost electricity. Five homes were destroyed, 30 had major damage, and 39 dwellings sustained minor damage. The public infrastructure damage assessment was over $700,000.||The Amtrak train became stranded in the New River Gorge at Prince. Fallen trees had blocked the tracks in both directions. Over 200 passengers waited 20 hours before being taken away by buses.

4. Jan 27, 1998Heavy Snow, Fayette$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A surprise heavy wet snow fell over these mountainous counties. Since the environment was near the freezing mark, through a deep layer, a wide variation in snow depth was observed. The variation was based on elevation. Elevations above 2000 feet were impacted the most. At these elevations of Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, and southern Nicholas Counties, a snow depth of 20 to 38 inches was left in the storm's wake. Meanwhile, in nearby river valleys and deep hollows, depths of 6 to 12 inches were more common. Further north, amounts of 6 to 12 inches were also more common across Randolph, Webster, Pocahontas, and northern Nicholas Counties. While the storm center was moving…

5. Jun 23, 2016Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   River flooding occurred on the Meadow and lower Gauley Rivers along the northern border of Fayette County. Russellville was flooded and Route 41 damaged. One resident of Russellville said, and when it got too so much, I grabbed the kids and I left. You couldn't stay. You'd have drowned.||A preliminary damage assessment was done in Fayette County. In both the flash flooding and river flooding, about 15 homes were destroyed. Another dozen or so homes were damaged.

6. Oct 29, 2012Blizzard, Fayette$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rare consolidation of a strong mid and upper level trough in the polar jet with a tropical hurricane named Sandy resulted in a historical snow storm for the month of October. ||Periods of rain fell for 2 days from the 27th into the 28th, as a cold front moved east. In response to the colder air associated with the polar jet and the strengthening mid level trough, light rain changed to the first snowflakes around 0000E to 0200E on Monday the 29th. This snow was only across the high terrain of southwest Virginia northward into the mountainous counties of central West Virginia. For example, the first flakes around Beckley were around 0100E. However, little accumulation was seen…

7. Feb 3, 1998Winter Storm, Fayette$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving coastal storm in conjunction with easterly winds aloft, caused several periods of wet snow, sleet, and rain. The snow fell mostly from the 3rd into the 4th and again late on the 5th into the 6th. Tri State Airport near Kenova and Ceredo reported a snow depth of 13 inches, Branchland of Lincoln County, Delbarton of Mingo County, Pineville, and Mullens all reported 8 inches on the ground. Hamlin of Lincoln County had 6 inches. Downtown Huntington reported 4 to 8 inches. No snow was on the ground prior to this event for these western lowlands. Over the southern mountains around Oak Hill and Beckley, the deep snow pack from the late January storm had settled and melted…

8. Jul 26, 2001Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rains of 2 to 4 inches fell in 12 hours, most in less than 6 hours. Oak Hill reported 2.8 inches of rain. Further south, rains of near 4 inches were likely along the Raleigh County border. Communities such as Mount Hope, Kilsyth, Glen Jean, and Pax were hardest hit. Dunloup Creek and its tributaries flooded Kilsyth and Mount Hope. Around 50 families were forced to evacuate. The City Hall in Mount Hope had 5 feet of water, compared to 3 feet on the 8th.

9. Mar 13, 2010Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Small stream flooding was common across the southern and western portions of the county. Streams such as Paint Creek, White Oak Creek , and Dunloup Creek flooded. This affected such communities as Pax, Mount Hope, Kilsyth, and Glen Jean. Water rescues were done. A 92 year old woman in Pax went under the water after leaving a vehicle. She was rescued. ||No homes were destroyed in Fayette County, but 38 homes had major damage. Several vehicles were flooded. Damage to the public infrastructure was estimated at around a half million dollars.

10. Jun 23, 2016Flash Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Severe flash flooding occurred in the northern portion of the county during the afternoon. A few of the streams included Smithers Creek, Brackens Creek, Laurel Creek, and Glade Creek.||The flash flooding on the small streams transitioned into river flooding along the Meadow and lower Gauley Rivers.

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°FJul 6, 2012

All-time low

−20°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°FJul 6, 2012

Coldest day

0°F2 times, most recently Jan 16, 1994

Wettest day

5.16 inJul 2, 1986

Snowiest day

24.0 inDec 19, 2009

Hottest year

2017mean 54.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 48.9°F

Wettest year

201861.62 in

Driest year

199934.85 in

Snowiest season

95.8 in2009-10

Station Summersville Lake (USC00468614), 1,768 ft elevation, 18.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1967 to October 20, 2026; 89.5% 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 USC00468614.
• 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.