Mercer County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (8,935), NASA (11).

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 27, 2024High Wind, Mercer$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were downed across the county from high winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The trees caused numerous road closures and many fell on homes. Seven homes were destroyed, and 22 homes sustained major damage. By noon on Friday, near 24,500 customers were reported without power. One man was injured while removing large limbs. Nearly $1 million was reported in food loss, likely related to power outages caused by downed trees.

2. Jul 8, 2001Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the morning of the 8th produced damaging winds and flash flooding.Persistent heavy rain from thunderstorms produced major flash flooding across the south portion of Mercer County from the morning of the 8th through the early morning of the 9th. Numerous evacuations were required with damage to homes and businesses. Numerous roads were closed with many washed out by the flooding and mudslides. In the south half of Summers County, heavy rains caused rockslides, and numerous small rivers and streams to flood. Numerous roads were closed and several washed out.Thunderstorm winds downed power lines along Route 12, two miles northeast of Alderson.

3. Feb 15, 2025Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain had caused multiple streams and creeks across the county to flood out of their banks and across nearby roads and properties. This included Daves Fork, Christians Fork, Lorton Lick Creek and the Bluestone River. In the Green Valley area, the South Fork Brush Creek was observed flooded out of its banks across Blue Prince Road. In Bluefield, the fire department was called out to block off multiple streets that became flooded and impassible. In the Town of Princeton, several roads were reported to be flooded and impassible, among them was Stafford Drive from Trent Street to Ingleside Road where a vehicle became stranded. Multiple swift water rescues were reported from…

4. Mar 13, 2010Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding along the East River caused damage to several homes in the Oakvale area. Many residents were evacuated.

5. Mar 13, 2010Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding along Brush Creek caused evacuations in the Green Valley area and damaged several homes.

6. May 2, 2002Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms during the early morning of the second produced flash flooding, Numerous roads in Hinton were flooded and closed, including the Route 3 and Route 20. A mobile home was also washed off its foundation. Flash flooding closed roads in Camp Creek, near Rock, homes and businesses, and Route 19 in Lindside. A more significant round of flash flooding countywide in Mercer county closed and washed out numerous roads and bridges. Numerous homes and businesses reported water damage.

7. Nov 19, 2003Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to heavy rainfall late on the 18th and on the 19th resulted in widespread significant flash flooding and small stream flooding.In Mercer County, there was significant flooding across the county, as many creeks and smaller rivers flooded. Numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.In Greenbrier County, significant flash flooding occurred along many streams and creeks throughout the county. The flooding damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes.In Monroe County, significant flash flooding occurred along several creeks....resulting in damage to homes and businesses. Brush Creek flooded and caused evacuations in a trailer park in the Peterstown area. Indian Creek…

8. Feb 6, 1998Heavy Snow, Mercer$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy snow developed during the morning hours on the 6th and continued into the afternoon hours. Snowfall amounts were mainly from 3 to 6 inches in Mercer, Monroe, and Summers Counties and from 6 to 10 inches in Greenbrier County. The weight of the snow from this storm broke of tree limbs that resulted in some power outages, especially in Greenbrier County. The weight of the snow combined with recent rains and the weight of snow from the record breaking snow storm at the end of January collapsed roofs of two churches and toppled steeples at two other churches. In addition, roofs of several out buildings, homes, barns, and businesses collapsed under the weight of the snow. Numerous…

9. May 16, 1996Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains during the morning hours on the 16th resulted in flash flooding across much of Mercer County. Heavy rains flooded numerous roads, homes and businesses, washed out bridges, resulted in evacuations, caused mudslides, and damaged a school and a park. At one time, downtown Matoaka was covered with 18 inches of water. A mudslide resulted in $ 30,000 in damage to a church in Bluewell. In Oakdale, several families were trapped in their home. A family of nine was rescued from the roof of thier home in Kellysville. Overall, 62 houses and 107 mobile homes sustained minor damage, 4 houses and 14 mobile homes sustained major damage, and one house was destroyed.Mercer County was…

10. Mar 4, 2008Flash Flood$750,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rains created a rock slide on Highway 52 and flash flooding in the Pinnacle Rock area.

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

97°FJun 29, 2012

All-time low

−21°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

75°F2 times, most recently Aug 23, 1996

Coldest day

−1°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

3.61 inJun 7, 1994

Snowiest day

17.0 inMar 24, 2018

Hottest year

2007mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1960mean 49.7°F

Wettest year

200454.17 in

Driest year

196930.07 in

Snowiest season

77.8 in1995-96

Station Bluefield Mercer County Airport (USW00003859), 2,855 ft elevation, 5.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1959 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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.

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 USW00003859.
• 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.