States › Pennsylvania › Northumberland County

Northumberland 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 42097 · 91,266 residents (2021) · 458 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 38Tornado · 14Flood · 47Wind · 255Winter · 70

Northumberland 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 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, has 449 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 98.1 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 49.2 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

9 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 26 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $27M.

FEMA has designated the county in 19 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 1,721 claims since 1978, of which 1,478 were paid, totalling $24M (about $16K per paid claim). FEMA counts 365 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($37M a year across 18 hazards).

23 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.

9events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

449events since 19502 deaths, 26 injuries recorded

19disaster declarationslast 30 Mar 2020

1,721NFIP flood claims$24M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	Northumberland County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	449	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	98.1	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	49.2	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	9	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$27M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	18.9	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$16K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	5.2	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: 1

Hail: 2Wind: 4

Tornado: 2Wind: 5

Tornado: 2Wind: 18

Hail: 10Tornado: 4Flood: 10Wind: 38Winter: 12Drought: 4

Hail: 13Tornado: 1Flood: 19Wind: 58Winter: 27Tropical: 1Heat: 2Cold: 3Lightning: 1Other: 1

Hail: 10Tornado: 4Flood: 13Wind: 79Winter: 16Heat: 1Cold: 1Other: 1

Hail: 3Flood: 5Wind: 53Winter: 15Heat: 2Cold: 1Drought: 7

11950s61960s71970s201980s781990s1262000s1252010s862020s

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

Trend: 256 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 166 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

Wind255

Winter70

Flood47

Hail38

Tornado14

Drought11

Heat5

Cold5

Other2

Tropical1

Lightning1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	255	—	1.0%	detail
■ Winter	70	—	0.8%	detail
■ Flood	47	—	0.7%	detail
■ Hail	38	—	0.7%	detail
■ Tornado	14	2	1.3%	detail
■ Drought	11	—	1.4%
■ Heat	5	—	0.5%
■ Cold	5	—	0.5%
■ Other	2	—	0.3%
■ Tropical	1	—	1.1%
■ Lightning	1	—	0.2%

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
31 May 1985	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$25M	—	2	20	County
18 Jul 2003	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	6	County
7 Sep 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$600K	—	—	—	County
23 May 1983	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	—	County
23 Apr 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
28 Jun 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	90 mph	$100K	—	—	—	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
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
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, Public assistance
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
22 Sep 1999	DR-1298	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Depression Dennis Pa	Individual 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
3 Jun 1985	DR-737	Major disaster	Tornado	Severe Storms, High Winds & Tornadoes	Individual assistance, 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
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 Northumberland County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,721

Paid claims1,478

Total paid$24M

Average paid claim$16K

Repetitive-loss properties18229 severe

Residential policies in force3651.0% of 35,495 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2021	1	1	$11,766	$11,766
2020	1	1	$13,422	$13,422
2018	17	13	$220,584	$16,968
2015	1	0	$0	—
2012	3	2	$4,987	$2,494
2011	418	373	$9,585,568	$25,699
2010	17	15	$282,932	$18,862
2008	5	4	$494,569	$123,642
2007	2	1	$26,697	$26,697
2006	103	97	$1,912,705	$19,719
2005	29	27	$163,917	$6,071
2004	298	274	$5,141,903	$18,766
2003	3	2	$3,671	$1,835
2001	1	1	$5,051	$5,051
1999	30	24	$151,474	$6,311
1998	5	0	$0	—
1997	1	0	$0	—
1996	359	318	$4,574,660	$14,386
1995	1	0	$0	—
1994	16	12	$295,565	$24,630
1993	50	42	$216,149	$5,146
1992	2	1	$8,439	$8,439
1991	2	0	$0	—
1990	5	2	$50,412	$25,206
1989	1	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 Lowscore 79.2 of 100

Expected annual loss$37MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$30,235,329
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$1,739,811
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,441,998
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,019,688
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$799,627
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$511,906
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$511,693
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$485,072
Winter weather	Relatively High	$403,686
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$72,565
Hail	Very Low	$63,658
Landslide	Relatively Low	$21,357
Wildfire	Very Low	$14,188
Avalanche	Very Low	$282

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 miles23

Tracks within 50 miles6

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	93 mi	40 mph
Isaias	2020	84 mi	63 mph
Sandy	2012	71 mi	63 mph
Ernesto	2006	66 mi	40 mph
Danielle	1992	96 mi	40 mph
David	1979	50 mi	46 mph
Connie	1955	44 mi	52 mph
Diane	1955	70 mi	40 mph
Hazel	1954	52 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	89 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	7 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	94 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	23 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	69 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	71 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	65 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	71 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	58 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	90 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	21 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	48 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	82 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	73 mi	58 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

17847 707
17857 255
17801 211
17872 99
17824 94
17777 83
17830 75
17851 56
17866 30
17850 20
17860 19
17868 12
17823 8
17881 6

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 Northumberland County, PA?

NCEI records 38 hail events in Northumberland County since 1950, in 17 different years; that is about 0.5 recorded events a year. 7 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Northumberland County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 14 tornadoes in Northumberland County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 2.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Northumberland County?

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

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

1,721 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,478 of them paid, for $24M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Northumberland County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

98.1 recorded events per 100 square miles against 121.6 statewide, and 18.9 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 29 Sep 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 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.