Pennsylvania high wind and dust storms

Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 67 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,889 high wind and dust records in Pennsylvania from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 95 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the October 29, 2012 high wind: 11 deaths, 6 injuries and $14.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 10 records. Pennsylvania ranks 16th of 52 states and territories by count and 14th of 51 per square mile.

High wind and dust storms in Pennsylvania, 1996 to 2026

Wind 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: 2,8891996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 95average
Deaths: 4066 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $147Mas filed
Busiest year: 2003218 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 high wind and dust records common in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania averages about 95 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 16th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (218). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Pennsylvania records 646 high wind and dust records since 1996, 14th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

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 high wind and dust records?

Per square mile, Philadelphia County leads Pennsylvania: 143 days with a high wind record since 1996, 1064.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Philadelphia County has the most wind records (150 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).

Philadelphia County 1064.6 (150)
Delaware County 750.8 (140)
Carbon County 346.1 (134)
Lehigh County 338.8 (119)
Northampton County 327.2 (124)
Montgomery County 263.0 (141)
Monroe County 228.5 (143)
Bucks County 215.1 (145)
Chester County 173.2 (146)
Berks County 143.6 (125)
Erie County 86.4 (122)
Beaver County 71.3 (32)

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 windy season in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is February (616 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 345 · Feb 616 · Mar 438 · Apr 254 · May 63 · Jun 15 · Jul 15 · Aug 17 · Sep 165 · Oct 206 · Nov 259 · Dec 496 (records).

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

What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2012-10-29	High WindLehigh County · forecast zone Lehigh One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy caused an initial estimate of $20 million dollars in damage in Pennsylvania and directly or indirectly caused 15 deaths across the state. Most of the damage in the eastern part of the state was wind related as wind gusts reached as high as 81 mph. Some moderate creek flooding occurred in the ...	70 kt wind	11	6	$14M
2003-11-13	High WindPerry County · forecast zone Perry One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong cold front swept across central Pennsylvania during the early morning hours of November 13th, 2003. Strong winds behind the cold front intensified as low pressure deepened north of the region. Reports of trees and wires down were common across all of central Pennsylvania. Earliest damage reports began around ...	60 kt wind	3	0	–
2018-03-02	High WindMontgomery County · forecast zone Eastern Montgomery One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold front stalled across the region on March 1st. Meanwhile, a wave of low pressure developed along this front in the Ohio Valley and move eastward, explosively deepening just southeast of Long Island on March 2nd. This large and very deep area of low pressure moved slowly east over the open waters of the North ...	50 kt wind	1	6	–
2003-11-13	High WindLehigh County · forecast zone Lehigh One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. The combination of a rapidly deepening low pressure system moving through the Saint Lawrence Valley and a high pressure system building in from the Plains States produced high winds across Eastern Pennsylvania. The strongest winds occurred during two time periods: in the morning shortly after the low pressure system's ...	50 kt wind	1	3	$3.0M
2000-12-12	High WindWarren County · forecast zone Warren Low pressure tracked northeast from the Mississippi Valley, intensifying rapidly as it tracked across Cleveland, OH overnight to Montreal, Canada by Tuesday morning of the 12th. A strong cold front trailing from the low moved east across Pennsylvania producing wind damage in every central PA county. Statewide, it was ...		1	2	$24K
2011-08-28	Hurricane Irene · Strong WindDauphin County · forecast zone Dauphin Strong to damaging non-thunderstorm winds associated with Hurricane Irene knocked down several trees and utility wires, causing widespread road closures and thousands of power outages. One tree fell and killed a 56-year old man who was camping in a tent near Manda Gap. A woman who was also in the tent survived but ...	44 kt wind	1	1	$33K
2008-02-10	Strong WindBerks County · forecast zone Berks An arctic front swept across Pennsylvania during the morning hours of the 10th. Northwesterly winds increased in its wake and became rather gusty during the afternoon and evening hours. The strongest wind gusts averaged around 50 mph. The winds knocked down weak trees, weak tree limbs and power lines throughout the ...	43 kt wind	1	1	$69K
2007-12-16	Strong WindBucks County · forecast zone Bucks A strong area of high pressure was anchored over southeastern Canada on December 15th. This high gradually moved eastward during the day, however it wedged itself down into the Mid Atlantic region. Meanwhile, a storm system became more organized across the Gulf Coast states. This storm tracked northeastward from the ...	45 kt wind	1	1	$569K
2000-12-12	High WindBerks County · forecast zone Berks One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A rapidly intensifying low pressure system and its associated cold front produced high winds across Eastern Pennsylvania during the morning of the 12th. Peak wind gusts ranged between 50 and 60 mph. A 50-year-old man was killed in Alsace Township (Berks County) when a tree fell onto his pickup truck at 930 a.m. EST. ...	51 kt wind	1	1	$377K
2015-02-02	Strong WindDelaware County · forecast zone Delaware Strong, gusty northwest winds occurred in the wake of a departing and intensifying low pressure system during the late afternoon and early evening on the 2nd in Eastern Pennsylvania. One motorist was killed by a downed tree in Delaware County. Peak wind gusts average around 50 mph and knocked down weak trees, tree ...	43 kt wind	1	0	$25K

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 high wind and dust records in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2003-09-18	High WindMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's.	50 kt wind	0	0	$50M
2012-10-29	High WindLehigh County · forecast zone Lehigh One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's.	70 kt wind	11	6	$14M
2008-09-14	High WindVenango County · forecast zone Venango One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's.	65 kt wind	1	0	$11M
2009-02-12	High WindNorthampton County · forecast zone Northampton One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's.	56 kt wind	0	0	$5.8M
1999-09-16	Hurricane Floyd · High WindChester County · forecast zone Chester One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.		0	0	$5.0M
2008-09-14	High WindCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	52 kt wind	0	0	$3.4M
2003-11-13	High WindLehigh County · forecast zone Lehigh One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's.	50 kt wind	1	3	$3.0M
1999-11-02	High WindBradford County · forecast zone Bradford One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's.		0	0	$2.6M

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

Are high wind and dust 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.

High wind and dust storms: Pennsylvania and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Pennsylvania	United States	Pennsylvania's share
1996-99	393	14,026	2.8%
2000s	1,424	37,254	3.8%
2010s	793	41,748	1.9%
2020-26	279	36,300	0.8%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent high wind and dust records in Pennsylvania

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-03-13	High WindWestmoreland County · forecast zone Westmoreland	52 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindWestmoreland County · forecast zone Westmoreland Ridges	53 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindWashington County · forecast zone Washington	51 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindWashington County · forecast zone Washington	55 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson	65 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindGreene County · forecast zone Greene	54 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindButler County · forecast zone Butler	53 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindButler County · forecast zone Butler	59 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindAllegheny County · forecast zone Allegheny	57 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindAllegheny County · forecast zone Allegheny	60 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindClearfield County · forecast zone Clearfield	61 kt wind	–
2026-03-13	High WindBlair County · forecast zone Blair	61 kt wind	–

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.