States › Pennsylvania › Lancaster County

Lancaster 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 42071 · 553,652 residents (2021) · 944 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 192Tornado · 39Flood · 166Wind · 650Winter · 81

Lancaster 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.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 1,177 storm events in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, led by damaging wind.

That is 124.7 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 21.3 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

89 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 14 deaths and 63 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $44M and crop damage at $6K.

FEMA has designated the county in 22 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Covid-19 Pandemic (major disaster, 30 Mar 2020).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 2,106 claims since 1978, of which 1,742 were paid, totalling $33M (about $19K per paid claim). FEMA counts 678 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($170M a year across 18 hazards).

31 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.

89events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,177events since 195014 deaths, 63 injuries recorded

22disaster declarationslast 30 Mar 2020

2,106NFIP flood claims$33M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	Lancaster County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,177	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	124.7	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	21.3	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	89	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	14	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$44M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.8	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$19K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	28.8	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: 4Wind: 2

Hail: 4Tornado: 2Wind: 10

Hail: 9Tornado: 5Wind: 28

Hail: 15Tornado: 5Wind: 54

Hail: 14Tornado: 5Flood: 18Wind: 88Winter: 13Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 4

Hail: 79Tornado: 7Flood: 57Wind: 107Winter: 29Tropical: 1Heat: 4Cold: 2Lightning: 3Other: 3

Hail: 56Tornado: 6Flood: 38Wind: 193Winter: 21Heat: 4Cold: 1Lightning: 2Other: 5

Hail: 15Tornado: 5Flood: 53Wind: 168Winter: 18Heat: 4Cold: 1Drought: 10Lightning: 1Other: 2

61950s161960s421970s741980s1441990s2922000s3262010s2772020s

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

Trend: 716 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 343 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

Wind650

Hail192

Flood166

Winter81

Tornado39

Drought14

Heat13

Other10

Lightning6

Cold5

Tropical1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	650	4	2.4%	detail
■ Hail	192	—	3.5%	detail
■ Flood	166	5	2.4%	detail
■ Winter	81	2	0.9%	detail
■ Tornado	39	—	3.6%	detail
■ Drought	14	—	1.7%
■ Heat	13	1	1.2%
■ Other	10	—	1.4%
■ Lightning	6	2	1.1%
■ Cold	5	—	0.5%
■ Tropical	1	—	1.1%

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
7 Sep 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$800K	—	3	—	County
22 Jan 2016	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
1 Nov 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	1	County
31 Aug 2014	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
18 Dec 2023	Flood	Flood	—	$10K	—	1	—	County
25 Jul 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$5K	—	1	—	County
20 Jun 2003	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
9 Jun 2011	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
22 Apr 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
4 Oct 2023	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Jul 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
19 Oct 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$6.0M	—	—	15	County
2 Feb 2025	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	4	Forecast zone
29 Mar 2009	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$1.0M	—	—	3	County
27 May 2022	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$325K	—	—	3	County
15 Jun 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	3	County
6 May 1991	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	3	County
19 May 2019	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$100K	—	—	3	County
26 May 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$3K	—	—	3	County
29 Jul 1961	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$2.5M	—	—	2	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
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
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
10 Sep 2005	EM-3235	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina	Public assistance
19 Sep 2004	DR-1557	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Depression Ivan	—
19 Sep 2004	DR-1555	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances	—
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, Public 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
20 Oct 1976	DR-523	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Sep 1975	DR-485	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, 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

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 Lancaster County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19782,106

Paid claims1,742

Total paid$33M

Average paid claim$19K

Repetitive-loss properties18134 severe

Residential policies in force6780.4% of 184,744 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2025	38	31	$1,145,676	$36,957
2024	4	4	$30,957	$7,739
2021	51	46	$1,485,454	$32,292
2020	7	3	$286,810	$95,603
2018	92	79	$2,594,408	$32,841
2017	2	0	$0	—
2016	1	0	$0	—
2015	4	1	$713	$713
2014	6	5	$40,759	$8,152
2013	7	3	$13,968	$4,656
2012	17	5	$153,027	$30,605
2011	477	420	$15,965,280	$38,013
2010	8	4	$32,166	$8,041
2008	1	0	$0	—
2007	3	0	$0	—
2006	36	28	$430,028	$15,358
2005	51	48	$1,378,221	$28,713
2004	66	60	$1,026,766	$17,113
2003	29	12	$113,832	$9,486
2002	1	1	$6,016	$6,016
2001	20	19	$501,421	$26,391
2000	47	42	$1,062,340	$25,294
1999	73	57	$854,457	$14,990
1998	2	0	$0	—

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 Highscore 95.0 of 100

Expected annual loss$170MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$110,633,482
Hurricane	Relatively High	$23,552,386
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$9,646,392
Cold wave	Relatively High	$7,526,585
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$5,125,735
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$3,812,496
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,238,181
Winter weather	Very High	$2,232,277
Lightning	Relatively High	$2,170,741
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,510,556
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,040,522
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$470,502
Wildfire	Very Low	$21,045
Landslide	Relatively Low	$7,904
Avalanche	Very Low	$33

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 miles31

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	38 mi	40 mph
Isaias	2020	85 mi	63 mph
Sandy	2012	10 mi	63 mph
Hanna	2008	93 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	26 mi	46 mph
Bertha	1996	93 mi	69 mph
Danielle	1992	36 mi	40 mph
Connie	1955	68 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	31 mi	46 mph
Hazel	1954	51 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	59 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	56 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	47 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	48 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	55 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	10 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	24 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1904	93 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	68 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	24 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	17 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	93 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	41 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	90 mi	40 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

17602 268
17545 225
17603 175
17547 161
17512 138
17522 138
17601 123
17543 91
17579 91
17565 87
17022 52
17552 51
17562 49
17540 46
17551 46
17517 39
17582 30
17516 26
17577 26
17529 24
17502 23
17509 22
17557 16
17580 16
17566 11
17578 11
17608 11
17538 10
17569 9
17584 9
17501 8
17505 8
17518 8
17554 8
17560 7
17572 7
17536 6
17519 5
17563 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 Lancaster County, PA?

NCEI records 192 hail events in Lancaster County since 1950, in 45 different years; that is about 2.5 recorded events a year. 31 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Lancaster County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 39 tornadoes in Lancaster County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Lancaster County?

30 Mar 2020: Covid-19 Pandemic, a major disaster declaration for biological. The county appears in 22 declarations since 1953.

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

2,106 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,742 of them paid, for $33M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Lancaster County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

124.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 121.6 statewide, and 3.8 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.