States › Pennsylvania › Wayne County

Wayne 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 42127 · 51,431 residents (2021) · 726 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 55Tornado · 11Flood · 61Wind · 189Winter · 39

Wayne 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.

Wayne County, Pennsylvania, has 369 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 50.8 events per 100 square miles, below the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 71.7 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

18 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 3 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $98M and crop damage at $220K.

FEMA has designated the county in 25 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Tropical Storm Debby (major disaster, 11 Sep 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 221 claims since 1978, of which 182 were paid, totalling $4.7M (about $26K per paid claim). FEMA counts 152 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" ($17M a year across 18 hazards).

20 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

18events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

369events since 19502 deaths, 3 injuries recorded

25disaster declarationslast 11 Sep 2024

221NFIP flood claims$4.7M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	Wayne County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	369	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	50.8	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	71.7	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	18	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$98M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	4.3	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$26K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	3.9	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: 1

Wind: 4

Hail: 3Wind: 2

Hail: 6Tornado: 2Flood: 3Wind: 48Winter: 12Drought: 3

Hail: 26Tornado: 1Flood: 17Wind: 44Winter: 27Heat: 1Cold: 3Lightning: 4

Hail: 16Tornado: 7Flood: 17Wind: 39Other: 2

Hail: 4Tornado: 1Flood: 24Wind: 51Lightning: 1

01950s11960s41970s51980s741990s1232000s812010s812020s

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

Trend: 201 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 155 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

Wind189

Flood61

Hail55

Winter39

Tornado11

Lightning5

Cold3

Drought3

Other2

Heat1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	189	1	0.7%	detail
■ Flood	61	1	0.9%	detail
■ Hail	55	—	1.0%	detail
■ Winter	39	—	0.4%	detail
■ Tornado	11	—	1.0%	detail
■ Lightning	5	—	0.9%
■ Cold	3	—	0.3%
■ Drought	3	—	0.4%
■ Other	2	—	0.3%
■ Heat	1	—	0.1%

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
27 Jun 2006	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$50M	—	1	—	County
16 Aug 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$45K	—	1	—	County
27 Jul 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	$1K	—	—	3	County
19 Jan 1996	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$18M	—	—	—	County
18 Sep 2004	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$15M	—	—	—	County
27 Jun 2006	Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	—	—	—	County
3 Apr 2005	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	County
4 Sep 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	$20K	—	—	County
16 Sep 1999	High Wind	Wind	—	$630K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
17 Dec 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
6 Aug 2003	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
3 Jan 2003	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	$300K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
9 Aug 2024	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$250K	—	—	—	County
2 Nov 1999	High Wind	Wind	—	$210K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 1997	Drought	Drought	—	—	$200K	—	—	Forecast zone
25 Nov 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	69 mph	$200K	—	—	—	County
28 Jun 2013	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
15 Oct 2003	High Wind	Wind	69 mph	$100K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
15 May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	110 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
15 May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	115 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
11 Sep 2024	DR-4815	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	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
1 Oct 2013	DR-4149	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	Public assistance
29 Oct 2012	EM-3356	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
12 Sep 2011	DR-4030	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Lee	Public assistance
3 Sep 2011	DR-4025	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
29 Aug 2011	EM-3339	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
23 Feb 2007	DR-1684	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	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
14 Apr 2005	DR-1587	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, 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	—
23 Aug 2003	DR-1485	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	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
16 Mar 1993	EM-3105	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
8 Oct 1985	DR-745	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Gloria	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Jan 1977	EM-3026	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snowstorms	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
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 Wayne County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978221

Paid claims182

Total paid$4.7M

Average paid claim$26K

Repetitive-loss properties335 severe

Residential policies in force1520.5% of 31,708 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	1	1	$6,320	$6,320
2021	4	3	$178,899	$59,633
2018	1	1	$8,913	$8,913
2014	2	1	$227	$227
2013	11	9	$254,520	$28,280
2012	2	1	$32,403	$32,403
2011	11	7	$270,677	$38,668
2010	6	4	$21,285	$5,321
2009	1	0	$0	—
2008	1	1	$5,862	$5,862
2006	72	63	$2,546,531	$40,421
2005	28	25	$710,927	$28,437
2004	35	31	$452,526	$14,598
2003	8	7	$58,772	$8,396
2002	3	1	$670	$670
1999	2	0	$0	—
1998	1	0	$0	—
1996	17	15	$136,566	$9,104
1993	1	0	$0	—
1985	5	4	$19,769	$4,942
1984	3	3	$3,576	$1,192
1983	1	1	$4,130	$4,130
1982	1	1	$4,035	$4,035
1979	3	3	$7,399	$2,466
1978	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 56.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$17MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Moderate

Community resilienceRelatively Low

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$12,669,231
Cold wave	Relatively Low	$1,465,937
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$1,037,629
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$754,819
Tornado	Relatively Low	$479,867
Lightning	Relatively Low	$237,921
Earthquake	Very Low	$223,163
Heat wave	Very Low	$137,830
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$70,745
Hail	Very Low	$61,424
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$50,732
Landslide	Relatively Low	$7,991
Wildfire	Very Low	$6,923
Avalanche	Very Low	$141

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 miles20

Tracks within 50 miles4

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	53 mi	63 mph
Irene	2011	99 mi	63 mph
David	1979	53 mi	46 mph
Agnes	1972	41 mi	52 mph
Doria	1971	88 mi	52 mph
Diane	1955	89 mi	46 mph
Able	1952	60 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	90 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	73 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	15 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	73 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	39 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	81 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	98 mi	86 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	86 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	96 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	91 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	12 mi	81 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1866	71 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1863	95 mi	46 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

18415 43
18417 31
18431 31
18428 18
18462 16
18436 14
18424 13
18472 13
18461 10
18453 8
18405 7
18445 7
18443 6
18473 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 Wayne County, PA?

NCEI records 55 hail events in Wayne County since 1950, in 19 different years; that is about 0.7 recorded events a year. 6 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Wayne County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 11 tornadoes in Wayne County since 1950, 2 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Wayne County?

11 Sep 2024: Tropical Storm Debby, a major disaster declaration for tropical storm. The county appears in 25 declarations since 1953.

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

221 NFIP claims since 1978, 182 of them paid, for $4.7M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Wayne 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 "Relatively Low" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Wayne County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

50.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 121.6 statewide, and 4.3 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.