Jefferson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Jefferson 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 WV GS (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. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Jefferson$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   *** River Flooding ***High dew point temperatures melted most of the snow on the ground within 12 hours early on the 19th. The pack had a liquid equivalent of 2 to 3 inches. The snow melt, combined with 1 to 3 inches of rainfall (some locations received 5 inches), produced the worst regional flooding since 1985. River flooding began during the flood/flash flood event along the headwaters of the basin and continued downstream through the 21st. Crests ranged from 3 to 21 feet above flood stage. A flood of record was noted on Opequon Creek near Martinsburg (WVZ052).High water caused millions of dollars in damage, closed roads, destroyed homes and businesses, and caused several towns…

2. Aug 26, 2006Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Intense lightning from strong thunderstorms caused four house fires around Charles Town and Harpers Ferry. The time was estimated from eyewitness reports.

3. Jun 1, 2006Lightning$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Intense lightning occurred with a batch of strong thunderstorms as they moved across the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Newspaper reports indicated several house fires in Jefferson County, with extensive property damage. A few trees were also damaged due to the intense lightning strikes. The times listed are estimated.

4. Sep 18, 2003High Wind, Jefferson$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel made landfall on the North Carolina Coast. It moved northwest across Virginia and by 5 am on September 19, the center was over the heart of the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Fortunately the storm had greatly weakened by this point. The heaviest rains appear to have been on the left side of the center track of the storm with the greater wind damage was to the right side. While sustained winds were no longer strong enough to do damage, the storm was still producing wind gusts in the 50 to 60 mph range. Previous rains had softened the soil and trees still had a full sail of leaves. Numerous trees uprooted onto power lines, roads, cars and…

5. Sep 17, 2004Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado touched down in western Jefferson County. The tornado produced intermittent damage on a 2 mile stretch. Home owners reported moderate roof and siding damage and several large, healthy trees felled.

6. Nov 29, 2005Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Vehicles were flooded out in water across the county.

7. Sep 6, 1996Flash Flood$100,000
8. Jul 11, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were down on homes and vehicles. Route 1 was closed near Hinton Road due to fallen trees.

9. May 3, 2021Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Ranson West Virginia in the community|along Robelei Drive just west of West Virginia Route 115/Mildred|Street. The southernmost homes in this community were affected|with minor siding and shingle damage. One homeowner with a|personal home anemometer measured an unofficial 68mph wind gust.||The last two properties, those closest to 115, had the most|substantial damage. One outdoor shed was blown from its|foundation, and another shed was shifted from its foundation. The|trailer section of a tractor trailer was pushed a few feet|laterally, and then pushed over onto Route 115. The trailer was|being used for storage. Leaf spatter was noted on the homes,…

10. Jan 14, 2006High Wind, Jefferson$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Very strong winds developed on the 14th due to a strengthening low pressure system off the Mid Atlantic Coast and a fast moving cold front that passed through the region early in the day. Widespread damages and power outages occurred during this event, with newspaper reports indicating tens of thousands without power for an extended period of time.

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

112°FJul 11, 1936

All-time low

−19°FJan 14, 1912

Warmest night

86°FJul 21, 1930

Coldest day

2°FJan 17, 1982

Wettest day

6.18 inSep 24, 1912

Snowiest day

27.0 inFeb 24, 1914

Hottest year

1998mean 58.5°F

Coldest year

1904mean 49.8°F

Wettest year

201861.58 in

Driest year

193021.43 in

Snowiest season

84.4 in1960-61

Station Martinsburg E W Virginia Regional (USW00013734), 541 ft elevation, 9.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00013734.
• 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.