Monongalia County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Monongalia County is about the same as West Virginia average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Monongalia County is higher than West Virginia average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #55
Monongalia County | 0.00 |
West Virginia | 0.06 |
U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
Monongalia County | 0.0000 |
West Virginia | 0.0000 |
U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #6
Monongalia County | 63.07 |
West Virginia | 34.13 |
U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 11,446 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Monongalia County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 4 | Cold: | 52 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 24 |
Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 2,206 | Hail: | 2,206 | Heat: | 25 | Heavy Snow: | 153 |
High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 42 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 163 |
Thunderstorm Winds: | 6,136 | Tropical Storm: | 1 | Wildfire: | 7 | Winter Storm: | 58 | Winter Weather: | 6 |
Other: | 363 |
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Monongalia County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Monongalia County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Monongalia County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 25 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Monongalia County.
Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
12.4 | 1980-06-03 | 3 | 39°32'N / 79°54'W | 39°30'N / 79°52'W | 2.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Monongalia |
17.0 | 1981-06-21 | 2 | 39°32'N / 80°21'W | 1.00 Mile | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Marion | |
19.0 | 1971-07-13 | 2 | 39°46'N / 79°50'W | 39°42'N / 79°37'W | 12.20 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Fayette |
20.3 | 1968-06-25 | 2 | 39°51'N / 80°19'W | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Greene | |||
20.8 | 1967-05-07 | 2 | 39°20'N / 80°05'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |||
24.2 | 1970-08-22 | 2 | 39°18'N / 80°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 127 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Harrison | |
24.4 | 1980-06-03 | 3 | 39°30'N / 79°52'W | 39°23'N / 79°29'W | 21.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 15 | 2.5M | 0 | Preston |
24.9 | 1998-06-02 | 2 | 39°45'N / 79°39'W | 39°43'N / 79°34'W | 5.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.0M | 2.0M | Fayette |
Brief Description: An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles. Damage included a completely destroyed dairy barn, two completely destroyed house trailers, and at least 21 other structures heavily damaged, many with roofs partially or completely peeled off. Several cows were killed, with one cow thrown through the air over 100 yards. A clearly visible 300-yard wide, 1-mile long swath of trees which were completely sheared/uprooted was present near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state border. One Fayette County official estimated at least two million dollars damage in lost timber alone in that county. Despite the damage, interviews with law enforcement officials, paramedics and local residents revealed no injuries occurred. | |||||||||||
25.5 | 1971-07-13 | 2 | 39°42'N / 79°37'W | 39°40'N / 79°33'W | 3.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Fayette |
26.6 | 1986-10-01 | 2 | 39°55'N / 79°45'W | 39°54'N / 79°40'W | 4.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Fayette |
28.7 | 1998-06-02 | 2 | 39°43'N / 79°33'W | 39°40'N / 79°30'W | 4.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 5.0M | 2.0M | Preston |
Brief Description: An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles. Damage in Preston County included a completely destroyed dairy barn, two completely destroyed house trailers, and at least 21 other structures heavily damaged, many with roofs partially or completely peeled off. Several cows were killed, with one cow thrown through the air over 100 yards. A clearly visible 300-yard wide, 1-mile long swath of trees which were completely sheared/uprooted was present near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state border. One Fayette County official estimated at least two million dollars damage in lost timber alone in that county. Despite the damage, interviews with law enforcement officials, paramedics and local residents revealed no injuries occurred. | |||||||||||
31.1 | 1998-06-02 | 2 | 39°40'N / 79°30'W | 39°38'N / 79°27'W | 3.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Garrett |
Brief Description: An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles. Damage included a completely destroyed dairy barn, two completely destroyed house trailers, and at least 21 other structures heavily damaged, many with roofs partially or completely peeled off. Several cows were killed, with one cow thrown through the air over 100 yards. A clearly visible 300-yard wide, 1-mile long swath of trees which were completely sheared/uprooted was present near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state border. One Fayette County official estimated at least two million dollars damage in lost timber alone in that county. Despite the damage, interviews with law enforcement officials, paramedics and local residents revealed no injuries occurred. | |||||||||||
31.8 | 1977-06-20 | 2 | 39°29'N / 79°33'W | 39°24'N / 79°29'W | 6.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Preston |
33.7 | 1990-06-30 | 2 | 40°07'N / 80°09'W | 0.20 Mile | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Washington | |
36.0 | 1977-06-20 | 2 | 39°24'N / 79°29'W | 39°22'N / 79°27'W | 1.90 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Garrett |
38.1 | 1980-06-03 | 3 | 39°23'N / 79°29'W | 39°21'N / 79°23'W | 5.60 Miles | 117 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Garrett |
39.6 | 1965-11-16 | 2 | 40°05'N / 79°37'W | 40°06'N / 79°36'W | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Westmoreland | ||
41.1 | 1965-11-16 | 2 | 40°06'N / 79°36'W | 40°07'N / 79°35'W | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Fayette | ||
42.3 | 1967-05-19 | 3 | 39°23'N / 79°20'W | 0.30 Mile | 33 Yards | 1 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Garrett | |
45.0 | 1986-10-01 | 3 | 39°18'N / 80°47'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Doddridge | |
47.0 | 1954-06-26 | 2 | 40°15'N / 79°41'W | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Westmoreland | |||
47.0 | 1983-05-22 | 2 | 40°17'N / 79°53'W | 40°18'N / 79°47'W | 5.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Allegheny |
48.1 | 1963-08-03 | 3 | 40°19'N / 79°53'W | 2 | 70 | 25.0M | 0 | Allegheny | |||
48.6 | 1956-03-07 | 2 | 39°03'N / 80°34'W | 1.00 Mile | 60 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Lewis | |
49.8 | 1998-06-02 | 2 | 39°51'N / 79°14'W | 39°46'N / 79°04'W | 15.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Somerset |
Brief Description: This F2 tornado was the first of two tornadoes to cross southern Somerset County on the evening of June 2. It would cross the path of the May 31st tornado that struck Salisbury. The tornado initially touched down about 4 miles southeast of Markleton, then tracked southeast for 12 miles across the Boynton area and ended in Pocahontas crossing the May 31st track about 6 miles east of Salisbury. The town of Boynton was hard hit, but most of the remaining damage in Pennsylvania was to trees. A carpentry shop near Pocahontas that had been destroyed by the May 31st tornado on Sunday was already being rebuilt by Amish farmers when the framing was blown over by this tornado. There were no deaths or injuries. See additional details in the Seven Springs to Frostburg tornado that paralleled the track of this storm just two hours later. |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.