Harrison County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (9,636).

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. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and large branches were blown down across the county. Around 20,000 customers lost electricity. The public infrastructure damage assessment was around $780,000.

2. Jul 29, 2017Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occured across Harrison County. Areas in and around Bridgeport and Shinnston were especially hard hit. Around Bridgeport multiple roads were closed, and several houses had water into the first floors. Also, many homes had water seepage into their basements. A total of 44 homes were damaged in Harrison County by the flooding, 14 of which sustained substantial damage. There was also flash flooding in Wallace, where Long Fork Creek and Little Tenmile Creek both came out of their banks, closing portions of Barnes Street. The WV Department of Highways reported 28 state and county routes were flooded in Harrison County.

3. Jun 3, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous streams quickly flooded roads and into some homes across northern portions of Harrison County during the late night hours.||Evacuations and water rescues did occur. Examples of some of the creeks included Salem Fork, Thomas Fork, Booths Creek, and Mudlick Run.

4. Aug 6, 2011Flash Flood$950,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe flash flooding occurred along Ann Moore Run. Its headwaters are around a highly urban shopping mall. The stream flows through Anmoore and East View. A lot of the flooding was also from hillside runoff. One apartment complex on the east side of the shopping center had 16 units damaged. The fire department in Anmoore was flooded. One Anmoore resident said, It was the worst one we've had. Businesses along Philippi Pike were flooded. ||Flooding of less magnitude spilled over into the Simpson Creek drainage in Bridgeport. ||A total of 10 businesses were affected. Twenty houses had significant damage. On the order of 100 homes had water in their basement. Even the county…

5. Jun 16, 1998Hail$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Baseball size hail fell at the Mount Clair Golf Course, breaking wind shields on vehicles. The Laurel Park section of town saw leaves stripped off the trees. The hail was described as bigger than golfballs.

6. Aug 29, 2023Flash Flood$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Multiple areas within Harrison County observed flooded roadways, including Bridgeport, Clarksburg, Stonewood, and Anmoore. Water rescues were conducted along Anmoore Road in Anmoore and along Hawk Highway in Lost Creek due to the bad road conditions. Due to the high water, over a dozen roads were closed for a period of time. ||At least 11 homes suffered major flooding damage in the county, including the Willow Greene neighborhood. This Bridgeport apartment complex observed water damage to the first floor of the townhomes, with many residents having to throw out furniture and prized possessions. Professional cleaners and restoration vendors were called to the complex to help with…

7. May 24, 1998Tornado$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The path was through rural countryside, including Lamberts Run. The path missed Clarksburg by just 2 miles. One house was destroyed, 2 homes and 1 mobile home had major damage. Two garages were destroyed. Other damage was to vehicles and campers. Numerous trees were blown over or snapped. Peak wind gusts were estimated at 100 to 110 mph by a National Weather Service survey team. One person was injured by flying glass.

8. Jun 4, 2008Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After the ovcrnight flash flooding, additonal stream flooding occurred during the day, followed by river flooding on the West Fork River. Part of a reclamation impoundment for the Old Owings Mine gave way in Willard, sending water down a hill and into nearby homes.

9. Feb 29, 2012Flash Flood$475,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Small stream flooding was common across the northern half of Harrison County. Ten Mile Creek, Little Ten Mile Creek, and Isaac Creek flooded areas around Wallace, Sardis, and Lumberport. A water rescue occurred near Dola along Route 20. Mudlick Run flooded around Owings and Willard. Bingamon Creek and Cunningham Run flooded near Wyatt and Peora. Salem Fork and Jacobs Run flooded the community of Salem. In Salem, water got into a few homes and a general store. ||Overall though, the damage in the county was mostly to roads and culverts.||In the aftermath of this small stream flooding, the West Fork River crested at 19.28 feet at Enterprise. The bankfull level is around 17 feet.

10. May 16, 1996Flash Flood$300,000

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

98°F4 times, most recently Aug 28, 2024

All-time low

−20°FJan 14, 1948

Warmest night

76°F3 times, most recently Jul 19, 2020

Coldest day

6°FJan 19, 1940

Wettest day

3.07 inAug 12, 2001

Hottest year

2019mean 57.0°F

Coldest year

1940mean 50.7°F

Wettest year

201157.60 in

Driest year

201033.44 in

Station Clarksburg Benedum Airport (USW00003802), 1,205 ft elevation, 6.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 26, 2026; 93.0% 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 USW00003802.
• 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.