Pennsylvania severe thunderstorm wind

Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 67 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 23,711 severe thunderstorm wind events in Pennsylvania from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 658 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 3, 2020 thunderstorm wind: 4 deaths across 7 records. Pennsylvania ranks 4th of 52 states and territories by count and 7th of 51 per square mile.

Severe thunderstorm wind in Pennsylvania, 1955 to 2026

Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.

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
1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996

Records: 23,7111955 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 658average
Deaths: 51501 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $413Mas filed
Busiest year: 20201,392 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania averages about 658 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 4th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (1,392). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Pennsylvania records 5299 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 7th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?

Per square mile, Philadelphia County leads Pennsylvania: 212 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 1578.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Allegheny County has the most thunderstorm wind records (1,258 since 1955); 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 1578.3 (339)
Delaware County 1017.4 (338)
Northampton County 635.5 (390)
Lehigh County 611.0 (398)
Beaver County 595.8 (504)
Montgomery County 575.6 (634)
Lebanon County 558.3 (300)
Lawrence County 551.2 (361)
Allegheny County 549.4 (1,258)
Montour County 514.1 (76)
Bucks County 453.3 (505)
Dauphin County 443.9 (392)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the severe thunderstorm season in Pennsylvania?

49% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (5,948 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 132 · Feb 204 · Mar 728 · Apr 1,746 · May 2,810 · Jun 5,948 · Jul 5,656 · Aug 3,821 · Sep 1,197 · Oct 497 · Nov 844 · Dec 128 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.

What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania: the storms with the most deaths since 1955
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2020-06-03	Thunderstorm WindPhilmont Country Clu, Montgomery County One storm episode: 7 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. An area of thunderstorms, some of them severe, moved from northwest to southeast across southeastern Pennsylvania during the mid-morning hours on Wednesday, June 3rd. Then a derecho, which developed just southeast of Lake Erie during the early morning hours, moved rapidly southeast across Pennsylvania before exiting ...	56 kt wind	4	0	–
2012-07-26	Thunderstorm WindKinney, Potter County One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. Low pressure tracked east-northeast from the Lower Great Lakes region into the Northeast states, while a cold front trailed southwestward from the surface low through the Ohio Valley and Southern Plains states. Hot and humid conditions ahead of the cold front allowed for strong instability, which allowed for vigorous ...	78 kt wind	2	5	$58K
2025-04-29	Thunderstorm WindHighcliff, Allegheny County One storm episode: 170 records in 12 places; the totals are the episode's. A widespread, long-lived thunderstorm line (bow echo) raced across Ohio and western Pennsylvania on the afternoon and early evening of 29 April 2025. The gusts associated with the line of storms reached above 80 MPH at times, producing widespread damage. The thunderstorms which would eventually turn into the bow echo ...	55 kt wind	2	4	$675K
1995-11-11	Thunderstorm WindSomerset County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. Trees and power lines were down across the county including in Somerset. A tree fell on a car fatally injuring a woman. 4 others with minor injuries.(F29VE)		2	4	–
2006-07-18	Thunderstorm WindGlenmoore, Chester County A severe thunderstorm caused considerable wind damage throughout Chester County as well as the death of two people. Thousands of trees were damaged and took until the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd for most of the power to be restored in the county. A 73-year-old woman died when a tree fell on her vehicle while she was ...	62 kt wind	2	1	–
2010-09-22	Thunderstorm WindMuncy, Lycoming County NWS meteorologists confirmed a microburst near Muncy in southern Lycoming County around 1640 EDT. Peak thunderstorm winds were estimated near 80 mph based on extensive tree and roof damage. The intense, straight-line downburst winds uprooted or snapped numerous trees, causing structural damage to several homes. One ...	70 kt wind	2	0	$20K
2025-12-19	Thunderstorm WindShawmont, Philadelphia County One storm episode: 7 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. A narrow line of showers and thunderstorm developed along a cold front resulting in several reports of severe winds.	52 kt wind	2	0	$60K
1985-05-31	Thunderstorm WindBeaver County		2	0	–
2002-05-31	Thunderstorm WindHomestead, Allegheny County A macroburst roared across eastern Allegheny and extreme western Westmoreland counties during the early evening hours of May 31st. This macroburst produced an approximately 10-mile long path of damage from the straight-line winds, which were estimated as high as 105 MPH. The macroburst damage path originated in the ...	91 kt wind	1	54	$16M
1992-07-15	Thunderstorm WindSchuylkill County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.		1	25	–

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 severe thunderstorm wind events in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1998-06-30	Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Allegheny County		0	10	$74M
2024-10-06	Thunderstorm WindQueen Jct, Butler County One storm episode: 20 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's.	50 kt wind	0	0	$30M
1996-06-20	Thunderstorm WindLoganton, Union County		0	0	$28M
2002-05-31	Thunderstorm WindHomestead, Allegheny County	91 kt wind	1	54	$16M
2021-06-21	Thunderstorm WindCashtown, Adams County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	65 kt wind	0	0	$15M
1994-07-27	Thunderstorm WindTo 2.5 E, Chester County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.		0	0	$11M
1994-06-19	Thunderstorm WindPhiladelphia County		0	0	$10.0M
2021-07-13	Thunderstorm WindDu Bois, Clearfield County	52 kt wind	0	0	$8.7M

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

Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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.

Severe thunderstorm wind: Pennsylvania and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Pennsylvania	United States	Pennsylvania's share
1955-59	61	3,482	1.8%
1960s	224	10,124	2.2%
1970s	580	18,714	3.1%
1980s	1,156	39,604	2.9%
1990s	3,877	85,554	4.5%
2000s	4,004	129,990	3.1%
2010s	6,756	161,286	4.2%
2020-26	7,053	126,815	5.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Pennsylvania

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-06-25	Thunderstorm WindHamilton, Jefferson County	50 kt wind	$1K
2026-06-25	Thunderstorm WindHyde, Clearfield County	52 kt wind	$4K
2026-06-25	Thunderstorm WindBridgeport, Clearfield County	52 kt wind	$1K
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindFox Chase, Philadelphia County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindChester, Delaware County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindFox Chase, Philadelphia County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindFox Chase, Philadelphia County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindFox Chase, Philadelphia County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindCheltenham, Montgomery County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindMorrisville, Bucks County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindMiquon, Montgomery County	50 kt wind	–
2026-06-22	Thunderstorm WindMarshallton, Chester County	50 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.

Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in Pennsylvania

FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 17 declarations in Pennsylvania, 16 of them major disasters; the latest on November 27, 2018.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2018-11-27	DR-4408	Severe Storms and Flooding	11
2013-10-01	DR-4149	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	11
2011-07-13	DR-4003	Severe Storms and Flooding	5
2007-02-23	DR-1684	Severe Storms and Flooding	8
2006-06-30	DR-1649	Severe Storms, Flooding, and Mudslides	28
2005-04-14	DR-1587	Severe Storms and Flooding	11
2004-09-19	DR-1555	Severe Storms and Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances	67
2004-08-06	DR-1538	Severe Storms and Flooding	7
2003-09-26	DR-1497	Tropical Storms Henri and Isabel and Related Severe Storms and Flooding	1
2003-08-23	DR-1485	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	15
2003-03-14	EM-3180	Snow	36
2001-06-21	DR-1383	Tropical Storm Allison	3

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