States › Pennsylvania › York County

York 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 42133 · 458,696 residents (2021) · 904 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 164Tornado · 32Flood · 140Wind · 636Winter · 86

York 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 1,102 storm events in York County, Pennsylvania, led by damaging wind.

That is 121.9 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Pennsylvania figure of 121.6, and 24.0 per 10,000 residents against 42.0 statewide.

75 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 11 deaths and 61 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $34M and crop damage at $25M.

FEMA has designated the county in 21 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 1,753 claims since 1978, of which 1,411 were paid, totalling $21M (about $15K per paid claim). FEMA counts 674 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" ($106M a year across 18 hazards).

25 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.

75events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,102events since 195011 deaths, 61 injuries recorded

21disaster declarationslast 10 Sep 2021

1,753NFIP flood claims$21M paid

Compared with Pennsylvania and the United States

Measure	York County	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,102	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	121.9	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	24.0	42.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	75	2,028	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	11	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$34M	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.8	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$15K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	26.6	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

Hail: 1Tornado: 2Wind: 3

Hail: 4Tornado: 4Wind: 5

Hail: 6Tornado: 4Wind: 14

Hail: 6Tornado: 2Wind: 36

Hail: 17Tornado: 6Flood: 16Wind: 101Winter: 12Heat: 1Cold: 1Drought: 4Lightning: 1

Hail: 60Tornado: 4Flood: 52Wind: 115Winter: 32Tropical: 1Heat: 4Cold: 2Lightning: 3Other: 2

Hail: 54Tornado: 6Flood: 49Wind: 190Winter: 22Heat: 4Cold: 1Lightning: 1Other: 2

Hail: 16Tornado: 4Flood: 23Wind: 172Winter: 20Heat: 2Cold: 1Drought: 12Wildfire: 1Lightning: 1

61950s131960s241970s441980s1591990s2752000s3292010s2522020s

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

Trend: 677 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 321 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

Wind636

Hail164

Flood140

Winter86

Tornado32

Drought16

Heat11

Lightning6

Cold5

Other4

Tropical1

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	636	4	2.4%	detail
■ Hail	164	—	3.0%	detail
■ Flood	140	3	2.0%	detail
■ Winter	86	3	0.9%	detail
■ Tornado	32	—	2.9%	detail
■ Drought	16	—	2.0%
■ Heat	11	—	1.0%
■ Lightning	6	1	1.1%
■ Cold	5	—	0.5%
■ Other	4	—	0.6%
■ Tropical	1	—	1.1%
■ 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
9 May 2004	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.5M	—	2	—	County
18 Jul 1986	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	15	County
30 Mar 2014	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	2	Forecast zone
19 Jun 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	1	County
7 Sep 2011	Flood	Flood	—	$4.7M	—	1	—	County
15 Jan 2024	Winter Weather	Winter	—	$30K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
10 Aug 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	59 mph	—	—	1	—	County
13 Nov 2003	High Wind	Wind	69 mph	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
29 Oct 2011	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
6 Jun 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	—	—	1	—	County
8 Jun 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	10	County
28 Jul 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$2K	—	—	6	County
5 Apr 1952	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	4	County
6 Jul 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	4	County
9 Apr 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	4	County
15 Jun 1989	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	3	County
9 Apr 1997	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	$25M	—	—	Forecast zone
13 Jun 1956	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	2	County
16 Apr 2011	Tornado	Tornado	EF0	$20K	—	—	2	County
1 Jun 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	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
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
16 Apr 2010	DR-1898	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	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
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
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 York County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,753

Paid claims1,411

Total paid$21M

Average paid claim$15K

Repetitive-loss properties16520 severe

Residential policies in force6740.5% of 148,164 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	7	6	$105,279	$17,546
2024	2	2	$16,171	$8,086
2022	2	0	$0	—
2021	80	65	$1,931,480	$29,715
2020	8	5	$191,740	$38,348
2019	5	2	$43,755	$21,877
2018	70	62	$1,317,738	$21,254
2017	5	3	$162,341	$54,114
2016	3	1	$9,759	$9,759
2015	11	7	$138,287	$19,755
2014	6	5	$26,003	$5,201
2013	83	71	$1,109,465	$15,626
2012	43	36	$423,654	$11,768
2011	414	349	$7,657,860	$21,942
2010	11	4	$41,274	$10,318
2009	9	9	$123,827	$13,759
2008	7	6	$33,499	$5,583
2007	4	2	$46,077	$23,038
2006	15	10	$95,420	$9,542
2005	1	1	$14,058	$14,058
2004	154	129	$1,776,587	$13,772
2003	10	4	$36,494	$9,123
2002	2	1	$1,542	$1,542
2001	6	2	$20,876	$10,438
2000	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 Moderatescore 90.4 of 100

Expected annual loss$106MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$68,975,782
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$15,269,902
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$4,651,700
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$4,307,078
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,139,207
Strong wind	Relatively High	$3,025,843
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,781,607
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,656,506
Winter weather	Very High	$1,440,079
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,394,960
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$190,100
Hail	Very Low	$103,200
Wildfire	Very Low	$34,480
Landslide	Relatively Low	$17,439
Avalanche	Very Low	$69

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 miles25

Tracks within 50 miles11

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	60 mi	40 mph
Sandy	2012	28 mi	63 mph
Ernesto	2006	2 mi	46 mph
Danielle	1992	49 mi	40 mph
Connie	1955	53 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	24 mi	40 mph
Hazel	1954	31 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	35 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	61 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	29 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	70 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	49 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	23 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	69 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	51 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	95 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	51 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	99 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	43 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	68 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1888	48 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1885	57 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	68 mi	92 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1876	94 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1874	96 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

17368 186
17319 165
17315 122
17406 121
17327 115
17345 100
17404 93
17402 86
17403 80
17408 66
17322 43
17370 43
17366 40
17331 38
17360 36
17339 27
17019 26
17302 21
17347 18
17313 14
17309 12
17356 11
17405 11
17362 10
17401 10
17349 9
17364 9
17314 6
17363 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 York County, PA?

NCEI records 164 hail events in York County since 1950, in 42 different years; that is about 2.1 recorded events a year. 22 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has York County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 32 tornadoes in York County since 1950, 12 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for York County?

10 Sep 2021: Remnants Of Hurricane Ida, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 21 declarations since 1953.

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

1,753 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,411 of them paid, for $21M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is York 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 York County compare with the rest of Pennsylvania?

121.9 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.