States › Pennsylvania › Washington County

Washington 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 42125 · 209,470 residents (2021) · 857 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 156Tornado · 25Flood · 215Wind · 684Winter · 67

Washington 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.

The NCEI record lists 1,176 events for Washington County, Pennsylvania, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 137.2 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 56.1 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

38 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 16 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $30M and crop damage at $81K.

FEMA has designated the county in 14 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 1,131 claims since 1978, of which 899 were paid, totalling $21M (about $23K per paid claim). FEMA counts 468 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" ($57M a year across 18 hazards).

7 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.

38events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,176events since 19501 death, 16 injuries recorded

14disaster declarationslast 30 Mar 2020

1,131NFIP flood claims$21M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	Washington County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,176	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	137.2	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	56.1	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	38	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$30M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.4	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$23K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	63.7	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

Wind: 2

Hail: 6Tornado: 2Wind: 15

Hail: 6Tornado: 3Wind: 21

Hail: 15Tornado: 1Flood: 21Wind: 129Winter: 6Drought: 2Lightning: 5

Hail: 41Flood: 53Wind: 112Winter: 14Cold: 1Lightning: 1

Hail: 33Tornado: 4Flood: 86Wind: 226Winter: 15Cold: 7Lightning: 2Other: 3

Hail: 55Tornado: 15Flood: 55Wind: 179Winter: 32Cold: 3Drought: 3Other: 2

01950s21960s231970s301980s1791990s2222000s3762010s3442020s

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

Trend: 753 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 360 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

Wind684

Flood215

Hail156

Winter67

Tornado25

Cold11

Lightning8

Drought5

Other5

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	684	—	2.6%	detail
■ Flood	215	1	3.0%	detail
■ Hail	156	—	2.8%	detail
■ Winter	67	—	0.7%	detail
■ Tornado	25	—	2.3%	detail
■ Cold	11	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	8	—	1.4%
■ Drought	5	—	0.6%
■ Other	5	—	0.7%

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
19 May 1997	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
27 Feb 2014	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	5	Forecast zone
10 May 1973	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	3	County
9 Mar 1999	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	—	—	—	2	Forecast zone
29 Jun 1987	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$250K	—	—	1	County
16 Jun 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$15K	—	—	1	County
28 Jul 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
16 Jun 1998	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
22 Jul 2011	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
13 May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	—	1	County
21 Oct 2021	Tornado	Tornado	EF2	$7.5M	—	—	—	County
17 Sep 2004	Flood	Flood	—	$5.1M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Jun 2002	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	County
19 Feb 2000	Flood	Flood	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$1.4M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
7 Aug 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
9 May 2002	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
6 Jan 2005	Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
12 Aug 2023	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$350K	$10K	—	—	County
21 Oct 2021	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$325K	—	—	—	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
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	Individual assistance
14 Mar 2003	EM-3180	Emergency	Severe Storm	Snow	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
9 Nov 1985	DR-754	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Jan 1977	EM-3026	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	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 Washington County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,131

Paid claims899

Total paid$21M

Average paid claim$23K

Repetitive-loss properties1149 severe

Residential policies in force4680.5% of 88,993 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	6	2	$13,750	$6,875
2025	18	15	$571,913	$38,128
2024	83	73	$3,958,987	$54,233
2022	4	4	$44,676	$11,169
2021	44	36	$885,081	$24,586
2020	7	5	$100,924	$20,185
2019	3	3	$40,943	$13,648
2018	67	58	$2,806,051	$48,380
2017	66	56	$3,432,181	$61,289
2016	8	6	$52,191	$8,698
2015	5	1	$29,271	$29,271
2014	6	4	$35,475	$8,869
2013	29	23	$471,883	$20,517
2012	1	0	$0	—
2011	18	8	$97,958	$12,245
2010	4	3	$19,503	$6,501
2009	1	0	$0	—
2008	1	1	$1,374	$1,374
2007	7	6	$71,595	$11,932
2006	2	1	$1,195	$1,195
2005	10	6	$20,586	$3,431
2004	127	113	$3,432,068	$30,372
2003	34	25	$227,469	$9,099
2002	3	3	$104,488	$34,829
2001	3	3	$11,078	$3,693

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 83.1 of 100

Expected annual loss$57MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$51,487,650
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,420,372
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,257,839
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,176,128
Earthquake	Very Low	$502,889
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$408,408
Heat wave	Relatively Low	$387,669
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$235,920
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$136,193
Landslide	Relatively Moderate	$120,581
Drought	Relatively Low	$118,236
Cold wave	Very Low	$64,849
Wildfire	Very Low	$42,561
Winter weather	Very Low	$19,426
Avalanche	Very Low	$14

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 miles7

Tracks within 50 miles3

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Sandy	2012	42 mi	46 mph
Isabel	2003	48 mi	40 mph
Frederic	1979	63 mi	40 mph
Audrey	1957	65 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	24 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	83 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	95 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

15301 232
15063 120
15022 99
15342 85
15057 64
15332 64
15477 54
15483 39
15317 35
15434 32
15419 31
15348 25
15412 21
15021 19
15333 17
15423 17
15312 16
15321 13
15367 12
15310 9
15055 8
15432 8
15060 7
15323 7
15427 7

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 Washington County, PA?

NCEI records 156 hail events in Washington County since 1950, in 42 different years; that is about 2.0 recorded events a year. 27 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Washington County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 25 tornadoes in Washington County since 1950, 4 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Washington County?

30 Mar 2020: Covid-19 Pandemic, a major disaster declaration for biological. The county appears in 14 declarations since 1953.

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

1,131 NFIP claims since 1978, 899 of them paid, for $21M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Washington 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, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Washington County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

137.2 recorded events per 100 square miles against 121.6 statewide, and 5.4 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.