Pennsylvania natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 12,994,073 · 67 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 54,501 storm events in Pennsylvania since 1950, 49,081 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 993 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (23,711). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest event in Pennsylvania is the July 4, 1999 heat: 74 deaths and 135 injuries across 7 records. FEMA has made 64 declarations for Pennsylvania since 1955, 62 for natural hazards; 54 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Pennsylvania 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 54,5011950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 8933,825 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $12.1Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 9931950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 6454 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Pennsylvania?

By NOAA's records, Pennsylvania's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (23,711), winter storm records (9,299), floods and flash floods (7,057); the deadliest are heat records (420 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Pennsylvania: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	23,711	9,627	51	501	$413M	67 of 67
Winter storms	9,299	2,868	122	1,070	$226M	67 of 67
Floods	7,057	2,676	110	166	$4.2B	67 of 67
Hail	5,524	1,316	0	1	$17M	67 of 67
High wind and dust storms	2,889	477	40	66	$147M	67 of 67
Tornadoes	1,091	265	83	1,309	$6.0B	67 of 67
Extreme cold	1,090	213	36	1	$109M	67 of 67
Heat	1,049	166	420	449	$46K	45 of 67
Drought	807	162	0	0	$924M	67 of 67
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	618	316	0	14	–	45 of 67
Heavy rain	567	132	2	4	$3K	28 of 67
Lightning	554	77	27	230	$26M	52 of 67
Hurricanes and tropical storms	94	10	1	1	$5.1M	40 of 67
Wildfires	85	9	1	13	$5.8M	17 of 67
Rip currents and high surf	58	1	0	0	–	4 of 67
Landslides and avalanches	8	3	0	0	$114K	6 of 67

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Pennsylvania?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Pennsylvania: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1999-07-04	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A very strong and oppressive high pressure system that extended from the surface to aloft gave Eastern Pennsylvania a brutal heat wave that included the entire Independence Day weekend. There were 74 heat related deaths and over 100 reported heat related injuries. High temperatures reached the 90s for the first time ...		74	135	–
1985-05-31	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Sugarcreek, killed 16 (SPC) · TornadoErie County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (41, in 20 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 12 mi x 400 yd	65	526	$25M step
2011-07-21	Excessive HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. One of the most oppressive heat waves since mid July 1995 enveloped Eastern Pennsylvania from July 21st through the 24th. The heat was responsible for twenty-five deaths, twenty-two within Philadelphia and dozens of heat related injuries. Many locations had high temperatures that reached into the 100s. The most ...		25	60	–
1997-07-12	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places, 1997-07-12 to 1997-07-13; the totals are the episode's. The longest and hottest heat wave of the summer of 1997 brought around 6 consecutive days of high temperatures of 90 degrees or higher to Eastern Pennsylvania. Along with the oppressive heat came high humidity levels and limited rainfall. There were twenty-four heat related deaths caused by the heat wave, twenty-three ...		24	60	–
2006-08-01	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong area of high pressure anchored over the East Coast and the western Atlantic, resulted in a stretch of excessive heat for the entire region to start off August 2006. The very hot air mass was accompanied by humid conditions as the dewpoints surged into the upper 60s and lower 70s for a time. It could have been ...		24	40	–
2008-06-07	Excessive HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. The most oppressive heat wave of the meteorological summer affected Eastern Pennsylvania from June 7th through the 10th. There were about twenty heat related deaths, eighteen within Philadelphia. There were also a couple of drownings within rivers. The combination of high temperatures well into the 90s and dew point ...		22	33	–
2001-08-06	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A ridge of high pressure both surface and aloft that was broiling the central part of the country moved east and covered Eastern Pennsylvania during the work week of August 6th. This brought a very oppressive hot spell to the region and peaked on the 9th. It was the first time since July 9th and 10th of 1993 that the ...		22	0	–
2002-07-01	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia July started with unseasonably hot and humid weather across Eastern Pennsylvania. The hottest and most humid weather occurred on Independence Day before a cold front quietly moved through the region during the night of the 4th. Highest temperatures were well into the 90s to around 100 degrees and heat indices reached ...		15	0	–
2011-09-07	Tropical Storm Lee · FloodDeodate, Dauphin County One named storm filed by several offices: 30 records in 3 episodes, 2011-09-07 to 2011-09-09; the totals are the storm's. Heavy rainfall from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee produced widespread flooding, flash flooding and river flooding mainly near and to the east of the Susquehanna Valley from September 4-10. Several locations in the Susquehanna Basin came close to records set by Hurricane Agnes (June 1972) and a few points ...		12	1	$386M
1998-07-20	HeatPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places, 1998-07-20 to 1998-07-21; the totals are the episode's. A heat wave affected Southeast Pennsylvania from July 20th through the 23rd. Eleven persons died (Eight in Philadelphia and three in Montgomery County.) from the heat. They were usually discovered in homes with closed windows and inadequate ventilation. A 21-month-old Philadelphia baby was inadvertently left in a car ...		11	75	–

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: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1999-07-01	DroughtPotter County · forecast zone Potter		0	0	$886M
2011-09-07	FloodDeodate, Dauphin County		4	0	$198M
1996-07-19	Flash FloodPunxsutawney, Jefferson County		0	0	$188M
2004-09-18	Flash FloodCountywide, Luzerne County		0	0	$156M
2006-06-27	Flash FloodCountywide, Susquehanna County		1	0	$146M
1996-07-19	Flash FloodShippenville, Clarion County		1	1	$141M
1994-07-27	TornadoMontgomery County	F3 2 mi x 100 yd	3	25	$100M
1996-07-19	Flash FloodFranklin, Venango County		0	0	$94M

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 $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 3, 1980 (tornado, Armstrong County); June 3, 1980 (tornado, Allegheny County); July 21, 1980 (tornado, Crawford County); June 3, 1980 (tornado, Westmoreland County).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Pennsylvania have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Pennsylvania

Billion-dollar disasters in Pennsylvania

NOAA counted 114 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Pennsylvania, led by severe storm (64). The most recent: Hurricane Debby (2024); Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather (2024); Hurricane Beryl (2024).

Pennsylvania: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	64	$5.0B-$10.0B
Winter Storm	20	$2.0B-$5.0B
Tropical Cyclone	16	$10.0B-$20.0B
Drought	8	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	5	$1.0B-$2.0B
Freeze	1	$100M-$250M

Every one of the 114, newest first

Hurricane Debby2024
Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreak and Severe Weather2024
Hurricane Beryl2024
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central, Southern, Northeastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
Southern/Eastern/Northwestern Drought and Heat Wave2024
East Coast Storm and Flooding2023
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
North Central and Southeastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather2023
Rockies Hail Storms and Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Winter Storm/Cold Wave2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
North Central and Eastern Severe Weather2022
North Central Hail Storms2022
Southern and Central Severe Weather2022
Southeast Tornado Outbreak2022
Southern Tornado Outbreak2022
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Fred2021
North Central Severe Weather2021
Tropical Storm Elsa2021
Eastern Severe Weather2021
Southeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2021
Hurricane Isaias2020
Central, Southern and Eastern Severe Weather2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
North Central and Ohio Valley Hail Storms and Severe Weather2020
Midwest and Ohio Valley Severe Weather2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Rockies, Central and Northeast Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2019
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2018
Southern and Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Weather2018
Northeast Winter Storm2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Midwest Severe Weather2017
Rockies and Northeast Severe Weather2016
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
Central and Northeast Severe Weather2015
South/Southeast Severe Weather2015
Midwest/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2015
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Rockies/Midwest/Eastern Severe Weather2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Tornadoes and Flooding2014
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm2014
Hurricane Sandy2012
Southern Plains/Midwest/Northeast Severe Weather2012
U.S. Drought/Heat Wave2012
Northeastern Winter Storm2011
Tropical Storm Lee2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Midwest/Southeast Tornadoes2011
Southern Plains/Southwest Drought and Heat Wave2011
Groundhog Day Blizzard2011
Midwest/Northeast Severe Storms and Flooding2010
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas Tornadoes and Severe Weather2010
Northeast Flooding2010
Northeast Winter Storm2010
Midwest, South and East Severe Weather2009
Southeast/Ohio Valley Severe Weather2009
Hurricane Ike2008
Midwest/Mid-Atlantic Severe Weather2008
Western/Eastern Drought/Heat Wave2007
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Northeast Flooding2006
Hurricane Jeanne2004
Hurricane Ivan2004
Hurricane Isabel2003
Southern Derecho and Eastern Severe Weather2003
Eastern Tornadoes and Severe Storms2002
Severe Storms and Tornadoes2002
U.S. Drought2002
Tropical Storm Allison2001
Midwest/Ohio Valley Hail and Tornadoes2001
Hurricane Floyd1999
Eastern Drought/Heat Wave1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
Hurricane Fran1996
Blizzard/Floods1996
Central, Southern and Northeast Drought/Heat Wave1995
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Northeast Winter Storm1992
Severe Storms, Tornadoes1991
U.S. Drought1991
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1989
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland Flooding1985
Hurricane Gloria1985
Ohio and Pennsylvania Tornado Outbreak1985
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Midwest/Plains/Southeast Tornadoes1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Pennsylvania, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Pennsylvania

FEMA has made 64 declarations for Pennsylvania since 1955: 54 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. The most common incident types are flood (26), severe storm (17), hurricane (9).

1950s 5
1960s 2
1970s 9
1980s 8
1990s 12
2000s 11
2010s 13
2020s 4

The 15 most recent declarations in Pennsylvania
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2024-09-11	DR-4815	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	13
2021-09-10	DR-4618	Hurricane	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	13
2020-03-30	DR-4506	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	67
2020-03-13	EM-3441	Biological	Covid-19	67
2018-11-27	DR-4408	Severe Storm	Severe Storms and Flooding	11
2016-12-02	DR-4292	Flood	Severe Storms and Flooding	4
2016-03-23	DR-4267	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	23
2014-02-06	EM-3367	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	7
2013-10-01	DR-4149	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	11
2013-01-10	DR-4099	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	18
2012-10-29	EM-3356	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	68
2011-09-12	DR-4030	Flood	Tropical Storm Lee	34
2011-09-08	EM-3340	Flood	Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee	42
2011-09-03	DR-4025	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	14
2011-08-29	EM-3339	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	13

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Pennsylvania

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.4 billion on 75,803 claims in 67 Pennsylvania counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Pennsylvania's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pennsylvania's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Very High 1
Relatively High 4
Relatively Moderate 16
Relatively Low 38
Very Low 8

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