CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Kanawha County has been the county most prone to tornadoes in the region, according to the National Weather Service in Charleston.

The declaration comes after the NWS in Charleston updated their Natural Hazard Risk Assessment to include the severe storms and tornadoes that tore through the Tri-State on April 2. Kanawha County now has the most tornadoes on record with 16 tornadoes that have occurred between 1875 and April 2024, according to the NWS.

According to the NWS, the counties that previously had the record for most tornadoes were Perry County, Ohio, and Washington County, Ohio, both with 13 tornadoes each between 1845 and April 2024. Berkeley County held the previous record for West Virginia, also with 13 recorded tornadoes since 1875.

The NWS in Charleston’s region includes nine counties in Ohio, four counties in Kentucky, two counties in Virginia and 34 counties in West Virginia. The NWS says the first tornado documented in West Virginia happened on Aug. 11, 1875, in Ritchie County.

According to the NWS, since 1875, there have been a total of 188 tornadoes documented throughout all of the Mountain State, and there are more that have gone undocumented. The NWS says in those tornadoes, 117 West Virginians have lost their lives, with most of the deaths occurring before 1950.

The majority of tornadoes in West Virginia have happened in June with a total of 47 since 1875, according to the NWS. After the April 2nd storms, April is now the second most active month with 37 recorded tornadoes, with July in third with 30 recorded tornadoes. There are no months that do not have at least one recorded tornado since 1875.

  • Photo Courtesy: National Weather Service, Charleston, West Virginia
    Photo Courtesy: National Weather Service, Charleston, West Virginia
  • Photo Courtesy: National Weather Service, Charleston, West Virginia
    Photo Courtesy: National Weather Service, Charleston, West Virginia

West Virginia counties that have not had a documented tornado, according to the NWS include Calhoun, Clay, Hancock, Hardy, Pocahontas, Roane and Webster counties.

According to the NWS, the April 2nd storms included the first documented tornado in Boyd County, Kentucky, since 1980; the first in Fayette County, WV, since 1990; and the first in Putnam County, WV, since 2000. The NWS says this was also the first time tornadoes were ever documented in the region between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. Local Standard Time, with a total of five recorded during that timeframe on April 2.

For more on the NWS Natural Hazard Risk Assessment. visit their website here: