States › Pennsylvania › Chester County

Chester County, Pennsylvania

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 42029 · 538,649 residents (2021) · 751 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 102Tornado · 29Flood · 316Wind · 891Winter · 146

Chester County within Pennsylvania. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Chester County, Pennsylvania, has 1,752 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 233.4 events per 100 square miles, above the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 32.5 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

62 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 24 deaths and 82 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $101M and crop damage at $13M.

FEMA has designated the county in 26 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Remnants Of Hurricane Ida (major disaster, 10 Sep 2021).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,914 claims since 1978, of which 1,538 were paid, totalling $38M (about $24K per paid claim). FEMA counts 1,015 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($173M a year across 18 hazards).

35 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

62events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,752events since 195024 deaths, 82 injuries recorded

26disaster declarationslast 10 Sep 2021

1,914NFIP flood claims$38M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	Chester County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,752	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	233.4	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	32.5	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	62	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	24	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$101M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.6	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$24K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	36.3	25.9	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 3Wind: 3

Hail: 1Tornado: 1Wind: 3

Hail: 2Tornado: 4Wind: 11

Hail: 9Tornado: 3Wind: 36

Hail: 14Tornado: 13Flood: 25Wind: 86Winter: 26Heat: 27Cold: 4Drought: 19Lightning: 7Fog: 5Other: 26

Hail: 23Tornado: 1Flood: 77Wind: 166Winter: 96Tropical: 1Heat: 39Cold: 17Drought: 22Wildfire: 1Lightning: 19Fog: 11Other: 12

Hail: 42Tornado: 2Flood: 106Wind: 205Winter: 24Tropical: 1Heat: 15Drought: 3Lightning: 19Fog: 1Other: 11

Hail: 11Tornado: 2Flood: 108Wind: 381Lightning: 1Other: 7

61950s51960s171970s481980s2521990s4852000s4292010s5102020s

Recorded events in Chester County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 1,125 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 561 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind891

Flood316

Winter146

Hail102

Heat81

Other56

Lightning46

Drought44

Tornado29

Cold21

Fog17

Tropical2

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	891	4	3.3%	detail
■ Flood	316	3	4.5%	detail
■ Winter	146	—	1.6%	detail
■ Hail	102	—	1.8%	detail
■ Heat	81	11	7.7%
■ Other	56	1	8.0%
■ Lightning	46	3	8.3%
■ Drought	44	—	5.5%
■ Tornado	29	2	2.7%	detail
■ Cold	21	—	1.9%
■ Fog	17	—	3.5%
■ Tropical	2	—	2.1%
■ Wildfire	1	—	1.2%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
4 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	4	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	3	—	Forecast zone
18 Jul 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	71 mph	—	—	2	1	County
6 May 2000	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
8 Nov 2006	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	7	County
5 Sep 1979	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	1	4	County
1 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$40M	$1.0M	1	—	County
16 Sep 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	1	1	County
15 Apr 2023	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
22 Mar 1955	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$250K	—	1	—	County
30 Sep 2010	Strong Wind	Wind	45 mph	$10K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Jun 1988	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
25 May 1997	Heavy Rain	Other	—	—	—	1	—	County
16 Jul 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
6 Aug 2001	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
24 Jun 2003	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
9 Jun 2005	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
26 Nov 1999	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3.0M	—	—	12	County
13 Jan 1999	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	—	12	Forecast zone
27 Jul 1994	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$5.0M	—	—	11	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
10 Sep 2021	DR-4618	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Mar 2020	DR-4506	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3441	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
23 Mar 2016	DR-4267	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
6 Feb 2014	EM-3367	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
29 Oct 2012	EM-3356	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
12 Sep 2011	DR-4030	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Lee	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 Sep 2011	EM-3340	Emergency	Flood	Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee	Public assistance
3 Sep 2011	DR-4025	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Aug 2011	EM-3339	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
16 Apr 2010	DR-1898	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	Public assistance
30 Jun 2006	DR-1649	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Sep 2005	EM-3235	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
19 Sep 2004	DR-1557	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Depression Ivan	Individual assistance
19 Sep 2004	DR-1555	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances	—
26 Sep 2003	DR-1497	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storms Henri And Isabel And Related Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
14 Mar 2003	EM-3180	Emergency	Severe Storm	Snow	Public assistance
18 Sep 1999	DR-1294	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
21 Jan 1996	DR-1093	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
13 Jan 1996	DR-1085	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
10 Mar 1994	DR-1015	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
16 Mar 1993	EM-3105	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
17 Jul 1973	DR-400	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
23 Jun 1972	DR-340	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Sep 1971	DR-312	Major disaster	Flood	Floods	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Aug 1965	DR-206	Major disaster	Drought	Water Shortage	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Chester County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,914

Paid claims1,538

Total paid$38M

Average paid claim$24K

Repetitive-loss properties21537 severe

Residential policies in force1,0150.6% of 159,896 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	4	2	$42,655	$21,328
2025	3	2	$25,049	$12,525
2024	8	8	$433,552	$54,194
2023	7	4	$91,532	$22,883
2022	2	1	$13,175	$13,175
2021	215	191	$13,738,869	$71,931
2020	73	52	$1,348,501	$25,933
2019	20	15	$91,060	$6,071
2018	36	30	$1,481,668	$49,389
2016	9	5	$42,517	$8,503
2015	7	5	$31,728	$6,346
2014	93	73	$1,956,356	$26,799
2013	26	15	$167,320	$11,155
2012	10	8	$64,575	$8,072
2011	160	120	$2,560,124	$21,334
2010	53	41	$808,718	$19,725
2009	7	5	$16,191	$3,238
2008	3	2	$7,626	$3,813
2007	8	5	$13,145	$2,629
2006	193	181	$3,910,461	$21,605
2005	8	5	$89,443	$17,889
2004	103	80	$1,533,355	$19,167
2003	170	130	$2,056,359	$15,818
2002	2	0	$0	—
2001	4	3	$20,162	$6,721

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Moderatescore 91.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$173MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$105,824,157
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$10,617,334
Drought	Relatively High	$10,080,349
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$9,832,134
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$9,611,404
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$8,469,671
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$7,507,630
Strong wind	Relatively High	$4,642,840
Winter weather	Very High	$2,319,622
Lightning	Relatively High	$2,050,663
Ice storm	Relatively High	$993,065
Hail	Relatively Low	$618,172
Wildfire	Very Low	$23,200
Landslide	Relatively Low	$19,727

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles35

Tracks within 50 miles10

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	14 mi	40 mph
Fay	2020	78 mi	52 mph
Isaias	2020	73 mi	63 mph
Sandy	2012	24 mi	81 mph
Irene	2011	82 mi	69 mph
Hanna	2008	66 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	51 mi	46 mph
Jeanne	2004	99 mi	40 mph
Bertha	1996	68 mi	69 mph
Danielle	1992	27 mi	40 mph
Brenda	1960	91 mi	58 mph
Connie	1955	75 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	16 mi	46 mph
Hazel	1954	78 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	69 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	73 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	85 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	65 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	22 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	79 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	30 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1916	95 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	9 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1904	72 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	46 mi	81 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

19335 467
19382 252
19380 223
19465 212
19320 87
19341 80
19348 64
19311 57
19355 50
19475 30
19366 29
19482 22
19312 18
19457 18
19333 13
19343 13
19350 11
19310 9
19365 9
19301 8
19425 6
19538 6
19421 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Chester County, PA?

NCEI records 102 hail events in Chester County since 1950, in 39 different years; that is about 1.3 recorded events a year. 13 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Chester County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 29 tornadoes in Chester County since 1950, 8 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Chester County?

10 Sep 2021: Remnants Of Hurricane Ida, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 26 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Chester County, and how much was paid?

1,914 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,538 of them paid, for $38M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Chester County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Moderate" for overall risk, "Relatively Moderate" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Chester County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

233.4 recorded events per 100 square miles against 121.6 statewide, and 3.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 5.9. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.