Top Climate Change Risks: Heat, Precipitation, Flood

People in West Virginia will experience especially increased risks from heat, precipitation, and flood due to climate change over the next 30 years. These risks, through 2050 and beyond, may change depending on how much we reduce emissions in the near future.

ClimateCheck Risk Ratings measure the risk posed by a hazard on a 1-100 scale, using historical conditions and projected scenarios through 2050. Climate change has complex, interacting local and large-scale effects that impact everyone on Earth, and a low risk rating does not mean no exposure to impacts from that hazard. See how we measure risk.

• For heat, Wheeling has the lowest risk and Huntington has the highest risk.
• For precipitation, Huntington has the lowest risk and Parkersburg has the highest risk.
• For drought, Parkersburg has the lowest risk and Wheeling has the highest risk.
• For fire, Parkersburg has the lowest risk and Huntington has the highest risk.
• For flood, Huntington has the lowest risk and Wheeling has the highest risk.

Arizona ranks highest for flood risk Utah and Nevada rank lowest for flood risk

West Virginia ranks #37 for fire risk.
Highest fire risk: Oklahoma and Wyoming
Lowest fire risk: Maine and Vermont
See our fire ranking methodology.

West Virginia ranks #32 for drought risk.
Highest drought risk: Nevada and California
Lowest drought risk: Mississippi and Vermont


West Virginia ranks #17 for heat risk.
Highest heat risk: Louisiana and Mississippi
Lowest heat risk: California and Oregon


West Virginia ranks #21 for storm risk.
Highest storm risk: Rhode Island and New York
Lowest storm risk: Nevada and Arizona


To measure precipitation risk, we look at the amount of precipitation that falls in 48-hour periods exceeding a location-specific threshold, and how many times this happens per year. A precipitation threshold is based on the top 1% of rainiest days per year for a location.

Historically, Parkersburg experienced an average of 1.4 inches of rain about 11 times per year. In 2050, it is projected to experience an average of 1.3 inches of rain about 14 times per year.

Historically, Huntington experienced an average of 1.4 inches of rain about 11 times per year. In 2050, it is projected to experience an average of 1.2 inches of rain about 14 times per year.

Drought risk is based on water stress, which is a projection of how much of the water supply will be taken up by human demand.

In the figure, the blue bars represent the available water every 10 years from 2020-2060, and the orange bars represent demand. The drought risk rating is based on the ratio of supply to demand and the projected change in this ratio. Lower supply and higher demand correspond to a higher score.