PlainHazard

Monroe County, Pennsylvania

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 42089 · population 168,181 · 608 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 1,331 records for Monroe County, Pennsylvania from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 1,011 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (485 records). 800 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the June 27, 2006 flood: 2 deaths and $23.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 21 declarations naming the county since 1965, 19 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Sandy” on January 10, 2013.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
1,331on 1,011 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
1278 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$196Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
14strongest F3
FEMA declarations
21latest 2020

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit Monroe County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 485 since 1996. 49% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The rank column places the county among Pennsylvania's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Monroe County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Winter storms 485 475 1996-2026 5 43 $19M 6 of 67
Severe thunderstorm wind 316 167 1956-2026 0 5 $848K 40 of 67
High wind and dust storms 143 139 1996-2026 0 7 $4.4M 7 of 67
Floods 84 62 1996-2025 2 0 $156M 27 of 67
Hail 53 44 1956-2021 0 0 – 29 of 67
Extreme cold 49 47 1996-2023 1 0 – 6 of 67
Heavy rain 43 33 1996-2022 0 0 – 9 of 67
Drought 41 41 1997-2010 0 0 – 8 of 67
Heat 35 35 1996-2012 0 0 – 10 of 67
Lightning 31 27 1998-2022 3 19 $303K 9 of 67
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 25 24 1997-2026 0 0 – 10 of 67
Tornadoes 14 12 1952-2018 0 2 $15M 34 of 67
Wildfires 11 11 2001-2016 0 2 $2K 4 of 67
Hurricanes and tropical storms 1 1 2011-2011 1 0 $230K 26 of 67

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Monroe County had?

NOAA records 14 tornadoes in Monroe County from 1952 to 2018, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. That is 34th of 67 Pennsylvania counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 15 tornadoes whose track touched Monroe County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 14: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched Monroe County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1976-03-21 13:00, as SPC files itStroudsburgF30.5 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Pennsylvania.

Every tornado record filed for Monroe County (14)
Every tornado recorded in Monroe County, newest first
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2018-10-02 Mc Michaels, Monroe County EF1 1.41 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2009-07-29 Bossardsville, Monroe County EF2 4.58 mi x 100 yd 0 2 $1.4M
2001-07-01 Snydersville, Monroe County F0 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
1998-09-07 Buck Hill Falls, Monroe County F1 3 mi x 30 yd 0 0 –
1996-11-08 Kunkletown, Monroe County F1 10 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $753K
1985-06-03 Monroe County F1 0.2 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $25K step
1985-05-31 Monroe County F1 0.2 mi x 17 yd 0 0 $3K step
1983-08-29 Monroe County F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $30 step
1979-10-05 Monroe County F1 0.3 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $3K step
1979-10-05 Monroe County F2 0.3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $25K step
1979-10-05 Monroe County F0 0.3 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $3K step
1976-03-21 Monroe County F3 0.5 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $2.5M step
1972-09-13 Monroe County F2 0.1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $3K step
1952-04-05 Monroe County F1 1 mi x 33 yd 0 0 $3K step

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Monroe County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 5, 2014 winter weather (4 injuries).

An approaching low pressure system from the Ohio Valley combined with a departing high pressure system over the Canadian Maritimes to give the Poconos an icy mixture of sleet and freezing rain during the afternoon and into the evening of the 5th. Precipitation started as sleet during the early afternoon and transitioned to freezing rain by the middle of the afternoon of the 5th. As the high pressure system moved farther east and the low pressure system neared, the freezing rain changed over to rain by the middle of the evening on the 5th. Prior to the transition, one to two tenths of an inch of ice accumulated on exposed surfaces. This made traveling and walking on untreated surfaces hazardous. Rain continued overnight on the 5th and through the day on the 6th. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 551105)
The 12 most recent records kept for Monroe County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-11 Thunderstorm WindPocono, Monroe County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-11 Thunderstorm WindBlakeslee, Monroe County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-06 Thunderstorm WindStroudsburg, Monroe County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-06 Thunderstorm WindTannersville, Monroe County 55 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-06 Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-03-03 Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-02-22 Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-02-22 Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-02-20 Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-02-10 Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 –
2026-02-07 High WindMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-02-07 High WindMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 57 kt wind 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Records with deaths or injuries in Monroe County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2006-06-27 FloodCountywide, Monroe County Several days of heavy rain throughout the Delaware and Lehigh River Basins culminated with major flooding along the Delaware River from the 28th through the 30th. It was the second highest crest on record for the Delaware River along Monroe County only surpassed by the flooding in August of 1955. The worst reported ... 2 0 $23M
2012-08-05 LightningLong Pond, Monroe County A lightning strike killed a 41-year-old man in the parking lot of the Pocono Raceway (Long Pond in Tunkhannock Township) as he was packing items into a minivan. Eight other spectators were injured and hospitalized by the same stroke. One of them was critically injured, but survived. The other seven were treated and ... 1 7 –
2002-08-02 LightningShoemakers, Monroe County A 16-year-old boy scout was struck and killed by lightning while attending the Resica Falls Boy Scout Camp off Pennsylvania State Route 402 in Middle Smithfield Township. Lightning apparently struck a tent where he and eleven other scouts were eating. Six other scouts suffered minor injuries. 1 6 –
2008-06-14 LightningTobyhanna, Monroe County Lightning struck a group of swimmers and killed a 17-year-old male in the water at Gouldsboro State Park in Coolbaugh Township. The 17-year-old male and a 24-year-old male were in the water when lightning struck. Two juvenile female companions were along the shore and were knocked to the ground. The ladies were ... 1 3 –
2007-12-02 Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe A wintry mix of precipitation fell across eastern Pennsylvania from the early morning of the 2nd through the early morning of the 3rd. Precipitation slowly changed to rain from Philadelphia northwest during the evening of the 2nd, but it never changed to plain rain in the Poconos. Snow and sleet accumulations reached ... 1 3 –
2008-02-12 Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe A protracted winter storm of snow, sleet and freezing rain affected Eastern Pennsylvania from the late morning of the 12th into the morning of the 13th. More snow fell across the Poconos, while more freezing rain and sleet fell from the Lehigh Valley south through Philadelphia. This led to a very slippery and ... 1 1 $69K
2013-12-26 Winter WeatherMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe An upper air disturbance caused a burst of heavy snow to fall across Berks County and the western Philadelphia suburbs during the morning of the 26th. While amounts were not heavy, it coincided with the morning commute and caused multiple accidents and closures of major roadways. Snowfall in Berks County and western ... 1 0 –
2013-01-22 Cold/Wind ChillMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe The northwest flow behind a departing low pressure system coupled with one of the coldest air masses of the winter season dropped low temperatures below zero in the Poconos and produced hourly wind chill factors between 15 degrees and 20 degrees below zero during the late evening of the 22nd into the morning of the ... 1 0 –
The costliest records in Monroe County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2005-04-02 FloodMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 $60M
1996-01-19 FloodMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 $47M
2006-06-27 FloodCountywide, Monroe County 2 0 $23M
2005-01-05 Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 $15M
2004-09-18 Flash FloodCountywide, Monroe County 0 0 $12M
2004-09-18 FloodMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 0 0 $12M
2003-09-18 High WindMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe 50 kt wind 0 0 $1.6M
2009-07-29 TornadoBossardsville, Monroe County EF2 4.58 mi x 100 yd 0 2 $1.4M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $2.5M, in the dollars of the day) holds: March 21, 1976 (tornado, Monroe County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Monroe County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Monroe County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Winter storms––––4419817073
Severe thunderstorm wind12110286480130
High wind and dust storms––––1669508
Floods––––10263018
Hail11351016152
Extreme cold––––422212

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

49% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 185 · Feb 169 · Mar 127 · Apr 65 · May 76 · Jun 129 · Jul 140 · Aug 111 · Sep 44 · Oct 41 · Nov 77 · Dec 167 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Monroe County

FEMA's register lists 21 declarations that include Monroe County: 15 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (6) and flood (6).

Declarations including Monroe County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2020-03-30DR-4506BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3441BiologicalCovid-19
2013-01-10DR-4099HurricaneHurricane Sandy
2012-10-29EM-3356HurricaneHurricane Sandy
2011-09-12DR-4030FloodTropical Storm Lee
2011-09-08EM-3340FloodRemnants of Tropical Storm Lee
2011-09-03DR-4025HurricaneHurricane Irene
2011-08-29EM-3339HurricaneHurricane Irene
2006-06-30DR-1649Severe StormSevere Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides
2005-09-10EM-3235HurricaneHurricane Katrina
2005-04-14DR-1587Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding
2004-09-19DR-1555Severe StormSevere Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances
2004-09-19DR-1557HurricaneTropical Depression Ivan
1996-01-21DR-1093FloodSevere Storms and Flooding
1996-01-13DR-1085SnowstormBlizzard of 96
1994-03-10DR-1015Severe StormSevere Winter Storms
1993-03-16EM-3105SnowstormSevere Snowfall & Winter Storm
1973-07-17DR-400FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1972-06-23DR-340FloodTropical Storm Agnes
1969-08-19DR-273FloodSevere Storms & Flooding
1965-08-18DR-206DroughtWater Shortage

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Monroe County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 84 flood or flash flood records for Monroe County from 1996 to 2025, on 62 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Monroe County ranks 571st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

Named storms on Monroe County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Irene2011-08-2811
Tropical Depression Ivan2004-09-1820

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $14.8 million on 436 claims filed in Monroe County; the most in one year was 71 in 2006. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 20 · 1979: 3 · 1983: 1 · 1984: 17 · 1985: 1 · 1986: 3 · 1988: 1 · 1992: 1 · 1994: 1 · 1995: 1 · 1996: 44 · 1997: 1 · 1998: 1 · 1999: 1 · 2000: 2 · 2002: 1 · 2003: 14 · 2004: 60 · 2005: 63 · 2006: 71 · 2007: 3 · 2008: 4 · 2009: 3 · 2010: 4 · 2011: 25 · 2012: 4 · 2013: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2016: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 21 · 2021: 40 · 2023: 5 · 2024: 5; the other years: 0.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Monroe County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Monroe County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $56.9 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

National Risk Index ratings for Monroe County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
LightningVery High$2.4M32 a year (modeled)
Cold WaveRelatively High$12M3.2 a year (modeled)
Winter WeatherRelatively High$562K18 a year (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Moderate$33M2.2 a year (modeled)
HurricaneRelatively Moderate$2.8Monce in about 20 years (modeled)
Strong WindRelatively Moderate$1.3M4.6 a year (modeled)
Ice StormRelatively Moderate$301K1.6 a year (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$2.3Monce in about 4 years (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Monroe County

  1. Northampton County 1,359
  2. Monroe County 1,331
  3. Sussex County, NJ 1,230
  4. Carbon County 1,115
  5. Warren County, NJ 1,102
  6. Luzerne County 738
  7. Lackawanna County 582
  8. Wayne County 531
  9. Pike County 356

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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