Pennsylvania winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 67 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 9,299 winter storm records in Pennsylvania from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 304 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the October 29, 2011 winter storm: 8 deaths and 2 injuries across 4 records. Pennsylvania ranks 9th of 51 states and territories by count and 12th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Pennsylvania, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 9,2991996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 304average
- Deaths
- 1221,070 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $226Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2022516 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 winter storm records common in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania averages about 304 winter storm records a year since 2000, 9th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (516). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Pennsylvania records 2078 winter storm records since 1996, 12th of 50 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Philadelphia County leads Pennsylvania: 207 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 1541.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Monroe County has the most winter storm records (485 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).
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 winter storm season in Pennsylvania?
56% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (2,796 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2,796 · Feb 2,366 · Mar 1,295 · Apr 195 · May 5 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 123 · Nov 525 · Dec 1,994 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Pennsylvania?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-10-29 | Winter StormBucks County · forecast zone Bucks One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. An unprecedented winter storm for late October not only dropped heavy snow across most of Eastern Pennsylvania, but caused widespread power outages and road closures as many deciduous trees still had foliage. Nearly one million utility customers in Eastern Pennsylvania lost power and power was not fully restored until ... | 8 | 2 | – | |
| 1996-01-07 | BlizzardPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. The Blizzard of '96, the second coined "STORM OF THE CENTURY" of this decade brought record breaking snow to most of Southeast Pennsylvania and paralyzed the region for several days, caused most municipalities to exceed their annual snow budgets during this one storm, caused several building collapses and caused ... | 7 | 0 | $26M | |
| 2022-03-28 | Winter WeatherSchuylkill County · forecast zone Schuylkill SNOW SQUALL. A snow squall passed over I-81 in Schuylkill County shortly after 10:30am (EDT) on March 28, 2022, causing an 80 vehicle pileup at mile marker 116 on the northbound lanes that resulted in 6 fatalities, an additional 24 injuries, and closed the northbound lanes between mile markers 107 and 119 for more ... | 6 | 24 | – | |
| 2004-01-06 | Winter WeatherClinton County · forecast zone Southern Clinton | 6 | 12 | $2.3M | |
| 2008-02-12 | Winter StormBerks County · forecast zone Berks One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. 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 ... | 4 | 10 | $240K | |
| 2016-01-22 | Winter StormLancaster County · forecast zone Lancaster One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A Nor'easter produced record-breaking snowfall across portions of southern Pennsylvania, with a large swath of 20+ inches of snow and localized areas of 30+ inches of accumulation. There was a sharp gradient in snowfall accumulation amounts from south to north across central Pennsylvania, with Harrisburg receiving two ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2015-01-18 | Winter WeatherDelaware County · forecast zone Delaware One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. Freezing rain at the onset of a protracted precipitation event resulted in hundreds of accidents, two that had fatalities, across Eastern Pennsylvania during the morning into the early afternoon of the 18th. There were also numerous pedestrian slip and fall accidents. A confluence of meteorological events made it easy ... | 3 | 100 | – | |
| 2016-02-13 | Winter WeatherLebanon County · forecast zone Lebanon A snow squall combined with blowing snow produced sudden blinding whiteout conditions along I-78 westbound at mile marker 7.5 in Bethel Township. Just before 930AM, the brief whiteout caused a 64-car pileup that killed 3 people and injured at least 70 others. | 3 | 70 | – | |
| 2012-02-25 | Winter WeatherVenango County · forecast zone Venango One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strengthening low pressure system crossed the upper Ohio Valley and Great Lakes on the 24th. Strong cold air advection and a tightening pressure gradient brought strong winds and snow showers and squalls to much of northwestern Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Snow amounts generally ranged from 2-4 inches, with the ... | 3 | 26 | – | |
| 2014-01-02 | Heavy SnowBucks County · forecast zone Lower Bucks A winter storm dropped 5 to 9 inches of snow across Eastern Pennsylvania from the middle of afternoon of the 2nd into the morning of the 3rd. This caused hazardous traveling conditions for the evening commute on the 2nd and the morning commute on the 3rd. Three storm related deaths occurred, all in Bucks County. After ... | 3 | 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 winter storm records in Pennsylvania
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-12-24 | Lake-Effect SnowErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $30M | |
| 1996-01-07 | BlizzardPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 7 | 0 | $26M | |
| 2005-01-05 | Winter StormMonroe County · forecast zone Monroe One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $23M | |
| 2008-03-07 | Winter StormErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $18M | |
| 2010-02-09 | Winter StormPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $10M | |
| 2003-02-16 | Winter StormPhiladelphia County · forecast zone Philadelphia One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 1 | $9.6M | |
| 1996-11-09 | Heavy SnowErie County · forecast zone Northern Erie One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $5.6M | |
| 2004-12-22 | Winter StormCrawford County · forecast zone Crawford One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $4.1M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm 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.
| Decade | Pennsylvania | United States | Pennsylvania's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1,102 | 32,893 | 3.4% |
| 2000s | 3,281 | 88,805 | 3.7% |
| 2010s | 2,781 | 103,626 | 2.7% |
| 2020-26 | 2,135 | 62,015 | 3.4% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Pennsylvania
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherClarion County · forecast zone Clarion | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherMercer County · forecast zone Mercer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherJefferson County · forecast zone Jefferson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherIndiana County · forecast zone Indiana County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherFayette County · forecast zone Fayette Ridges | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter StormClarion County · forecast zone Clarion | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherBeaver County · forecast zone Beaver | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter StormAllegheny County · forecast zone Allegheny | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherClearfield County · forecast zone Clearfield | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-17 | Winter WeatherClearfield County · forecast zone Clearfield | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-16 | Winter WeatherWestmoreland County · forecast zone Westmoreland | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in Pennsylvania
FEMA has declared 8 disasters in Pennsylvania for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 4 were major disasters, the latest on March 23, 2016.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03-23 | DR-4267 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 23 |
| 2014-02-06 | EM-3367 | Severe Winter Storm | 7 |
| 2010-04-16 | DR-1898 | Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorms | 27 |
| 2003-03-14 | EM-3180 | Snow | 36 |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1085 | Blizzard of 96 | 51 |
| 1994-03-10 | DR-1015 | Severe Winter Storms | 44 |
| 1993-03-16 | EM-3105 | Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm | 67 |
| 1977-01-29 | EM-3026 | Snowstorms | 21 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Philadelphia County: the county's whole recordThe Pennsylvania county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in PennsylvaniaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Pennsylvania23,711 records
- Floods in Pennsylvania7,057 records
- Hail in Pennsylvania5,524 records