Ritchie County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Ritchie 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 (5,586).

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and large branches were blown down in scattered locations in the county. Over 8,000 customers lost electricity. One home was destroyed, 3 had major damage, and 4 others sustained minor damage. The public infrastructure damage assessment was near $62,000.

2. Feb 18, 2000Flash Flood$850,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A warm front surged north during the morning of Friday the 18th, dropping a half inch to an inch of rain. Meanwhile, low pressure extended from southern Ohio on down the entire length of the Ohio River during that afternoon. A southerly wind at the surface, with dew points in the 55 to 60 degree range, fed moisture north from Tennessee and Kentucky. This moisture was advected into the boundary along the Ohio River. Additional rains sank south into western and central West Virginia during the afternoon of the 18th, reaching the Charleston to Sutton corridor around 1500E. The southern edge of the rain lifted a bit further north during the early evening hours, temporarily ending the…

3. Jun 26, 1998Flash Flood$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Serious flash flooding occurred. Outbuildings, mobile homes, and vehicles washed down Addis, Bear, and Buky Runs. A few wooden homes were moved off their foundations. A mother and her 3 teenage daughters were rescued by the Harrisville Volunteer Fire Department by boat after their mobile home started floating in the flood waters of Addis Run. The home was stopped and held by the block of their air condition unit. The mother later said, "I was in the living room hugging my kids with water up to our knees. We really thought we were about to meet our maker." Roads were extensively damage. About 20 people were without shelter. One volunteer fireman said, "It's the worst I've seen, and…

4. Jun 29, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three lattice steel towers carrying 500 kilowatt electric lines were bent over and collapsed. A fourth tower was pulled off kilter. Engineers were trying to figure out why the 40 year old towers collapsed. Corrosion, foundation cracks, or even flying debris could have been a factor. Repair crews built 3 temporary towers, with hopes of rebuilding the permanent towers in cooler autumn weather.

5. Jun 28, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three consecutive nights of thunderstorms left western and northern counties with wind damage and flooding. The first night was from Friday evening, the 26th, into early Saturday morning, the 27th. The convection on the second and third nights was further south than the first night, hitting the Parkersburg to Charleston corridor the hardest. Total rains were 6 to 10 inches across portions of Wood, Jackson, and northern Kanawha Counties, with 5 inches further northeast, into the Middle Island Creek basin. The heaviest rain rates were with the second night of convection from late Saturday night. the 27th, into Sunday morning, the 28th. The cloudbursts swept southeast from eastern…

6. Aug 13, 2013Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along the North Fork of the Hughes River toward the community of Mountain, feeder streams flooded. Farm equipment and a barn were damaged by flood waters. Bunnell Run flooded 3 or 4 houses and a car dealership around Pennsboro. Other houses were surrounded by water. ||Near Ellenboro, 7 temporary mobile trailers and 5 vehicles in a recreational vehicle park were damaged by flooding along Hushers Run. One resident described waking up and wading through 2 to 3 feet of water to reach safety.||Around 5 people were evacuated in the county.

7. Jul 10, 2003Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The cooperative observer at Auburn measured 3.5 inches of rain in less than 4 hours. Creeks such as Bone and Spruce flooded roads and homes. The American Red Cross surveyed 7 single family homes with major damage. One mobile home was destroyed. One mobile home was destroyed. Private bridges were also damaged.

8. Jun 28, 1998Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three consecutive nights of thunderstorms left western and northern counties with wind damage and flooding. The first night was from Friday evening, the 26th, into early Saturday morning, the 27th. The convection on the second and third nights was further south than the first night, hitting the Parkersburg to Charleston corridor the hardest. Total rains were 6 to 10 inches across portions of Wood, Jackson, and northern Kanawha Counties, with 5 inches further northeast, into the Middle Island Creek basin. The heaviest rain rates were with the second night of convection from late Saturday night. the 27th, into Sunday morning, the 28th. The cloudbursts swept southeast from eastern…

9. Mar 4, 2015Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Small streams flooded and closed roads. One example was Slab Fork flooding the Auburn Road, which is Route 74.

10. Jul 8, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$175,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Trees were blown down. Electricity was out. About 6 homes had some degree of roof damage. Two of those homes had major damage.

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

103°FJul 7, 2012

All-time low

−24°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

79°FJun 27, 1969

Coldest day

0°FJan 17, 1982

Wettest day

4.10 inSep 17, 2004

Snowiest day

20.1 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 57.3°F

Coldest year

1958mean 51.4°F

Wettest year

201157.24 in

Driest year

198727.24 in

Station Parkersburg Airport (USW00003804), 805 ft elevation, 23.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 88.5% 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 USW00003804.
• 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.