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Pennsylvania extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 67 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,090 extreme cold records in Pennsylvania from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 41 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 22, 2014 cold/wind chill in Delaware County: 4 deaths across 2 records. Pennsylvania ranks 20th of 51 states and territories by count and 22nd of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Pennsylvania, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • 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
Records
1,0901996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
41average
Deaths
361 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$109Mas filed
Busiest year
2015210 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania averages about 41 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 20th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2015 (210). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Pennsylvania records 244 extreme cold records since 1996, 22nd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483
  11. 22. Pennsylvania 244

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Pennsylvania have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Philadelphia County leads Pennsylvania: 33 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 245.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Monroe County has the most cold records (49 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Philadelphia County 245.7 (33)
  2. Delaware County 163.2 (30)
  3. Carbon County 120.6 (48)
  4. Lehigh County 95.6 (34)
  5. Northampton County 94.6 (36)
  6. Monroe County 77.3 (49)
  7. Montgomery County 70.4 (46)
  8. Bucks County 56.2 (46)
  9. Cameron County 53.0 (21)
  10. Sullivan County 42.2 (19)
  11. Chester County 41.3 (42)
  12. Berks County 39.7 (35)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in Pennsylvania?

76% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (426 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 426 · Feb 398 · Mar 43 · Apr 31 · May 33 · Jun 0 · Jul 20 · Aug 0 · Sep 7 · Oct 7 · Nov 2 · Dec 123 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2014-01-22 Cold/Wind ChillDelaware County · forecast zone Delaware One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Strong northwest winds behind the departing strong low pressure system coupled with another arctic air mass dropped low temperatures on the morning of the 22nd around zero (well below zero in the Poconos) and produced wind chill factors as low as around 15 degrees below zero, except around 25 degrees below zero in the ... 4 0 –
2003-01-14 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold frontal passage on the 13th initiated about a two week run of unseasonably cold weather, even by January standards across Eastern Pennsylvania. There were four cold related deaths in Southeastern Pennsylvania. All were found in unheated homes. The coldest mornings were the mornings of the 18th and 28th as low ... 4 0 –
2015-02-20 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The arrival of another arctic air mass brought some of the lowest wind chills and temperatures of the winter season to Pennsylvania 20th and 21st and was responsible for three cold related deaths. With respect to wind chill factors, the late evening on the 19th and the first half of the day on the 20th was colder with ... 3 0 $311K
1997-01-17 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia The coldest air mass of the winter season moved into Eastern Pennsylvania on Friday the 17th. The high pressure system came straight from the arctic tundra and moved southeast reaching the Middle and South Atlantic States on the 19th and 20th. Strong gusty northwest winds brought wind chill factors well below zero on ... 3 0 –
2005-01-18 Cold/Wind ChillLehigh County · forecast zone Lehigh One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. An unseasonably cold air mass that originated in Siberia poured across the Middle Atlantic States on the 18th. The combination of strong northwest winds (winds gusted to around 30 mph during the latter half of the morning) and unseasonably cold air produced wind chill factors that fell between 10 below zero and 20 ... 2 1 –
2015-02-05 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A new arctic air mass following the passage of a cold front caused two people to die from hypothermia in the local Philadelphia area on the 5th. In Philadelphia, a 68-year-old man was found dead in his unheated home. In Lower Merion Township (Montgomery County), a 93-year-old woman suffering from dementia was found ... 2 0 –
2025-01-20 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCambria County · forecast zone Cambria One storm episode: 36 records in 33 places, 2025-01-20 to 2025-01-21; the totals are the episode's. An area of departing surface low-pressure coupled with an enhanced upper-level trough dipping down across the eastern United States allowed for an extended period of cold air across central Pennsylvania beginning January 20, 2025. Gradient winds aloft allowed for breezy winds beginning on January 20 and continuing ... 2 0 –
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic air mass that originated near the North Pole invaded eastern Pennsylvania. The combination of the unseasonably cold air and gusty northwest winds produced wind chill factors as low as zero to 10 degrees below zero during the mornings of the 5th and 6th around Philadelphia, around 10 degrees below zero in the ... 2 0 –
2004-01-09 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia An arctic air mass brought some of the coldest weather in years to Eastern Pennsylvania from the evening of the 9th through the morning of the 11th. It also claimed the lives of two Philadelphia residents. The low temperature of 4 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport on the 10th was the coldest day of the ... 2 0 –
2000-01-14 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One of the coldest air masses of the season worked its way into the Philadelphia region during the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The low temperature of 17 degrees at the Philadelphia International Airport was the lowest reading so far this winter. The gusty northwest winds produced wind chill factors ... 2 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1997-04-09 Cold/Wind ChillBerks County · forecast zone Berks One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $46M
1997-04-09 Cold/Wind ChillYork County · forecast zone York 0 0 $46M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeBradford County · forecast zone Bradford One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $11M
2021-04-20 Frost/FreezeErie County · forecast zone Southern Erie 0 0 $3.3M
2012-04-29 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $1.2M
1996-02-02 Cold/Wind ChillErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie 0 0 $376K
2015-02-20 Cold/Wind ChillPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 3 0 $311K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: Pennsylvania and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadePennsylvaniaUnited StatesPennsylvania's share
1996-99675,5391.2%
2000s44014,7923.0%
2010s42218,1622.3%
2020-2616115,3291.1%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Pennsylvania

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeWayne County · forecast zone Southern Wayne 0 0 $3.8M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeWayne County · forecast zone Northern Wayne 0 0 $3.8M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeWyoming County · forecast zone Wyoming 0 0 $7.5M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeSusquehanna County · forecast zone Susquehanna 0 0 $7.5M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezePike County · forecast zone Pike 0 0 $7.5M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeLuzerne County · forecast zone Luzerne 0 0 $7.5M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeLackawanna County · forecast zone Lackawanna 0 0 $7.5M
2026-04-19 Frost/FreezeBradford County · forecast zone Bradford 0 0 $7.5M
2026-02-08 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillWayne County · forecast zone Southern Wayne 0 0 –
2026-02-08 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLackawanna County · forecast zone Lackawanna 0 0 –
2026-02-08 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPike County · forecast zone Pike 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLuzerne County · forecast zone Luzerne 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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