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Pennsylvania

The recorded hazard history of every county in Pennsylvania: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Pennsylvania has 54,427 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 67 counties, led by damaging wind: 121.6 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 901 deaths and 3,825 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $5.3B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Philadelphia, Delaware and Lehigh.

FEMA lists 64 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Tropical Storm Debby (11 Sep 2024). NFIP policyholders filed 77,060 flood claims since 1978, $1.4B paid; 31,965 residential policies are in force.

2,028events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

54,427events since 1950121.6 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

64disaster declarations since 1953last 11 Sep 2024

77,060NFIP flood claims$1.4B paid

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. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Pennsylvania	US
Recorded events since 1950	54,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	121.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	42.0	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	901	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$5.3B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	5.9	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$23K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	31,965	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind26,598

Winter9,299

Flood7,057

Hail5,524

Tornado1,091

Cold1,090

Heat1,049

Drought807

Other696

Lightning554

Fog483

Tropical94

Wildfire85

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	26,598	3.8%	91
■ Winter	9,299	3.2%	130
■ Flood	7,057	3.8%	110
■ Hail	5,524	1.3%	—
■ Tornado	1,091	1.3%	83
■ Cold	1,090	2.0%	36
■ Heat	1,049	1.9%	420
■ Drought	807	0.9%	—
■ Other	696	1.5%	2
■ Lightning	554	3.1%	27
■ Fog	483	2.6%	—
■ Tropical	94	0.8%	1
■ Wildfire	85	0.9%	1

Events by decade

Hail: 16Tornado: 64Wind: 61

Hail: 56Tornado: 42Wind: 224

Hail: 141Tornado: 122Wind: 580

Hail: 322Tornado: 159Wind: 1156

Hail: 766Tornado: 223Flood: 859Wind: 4270Winter: 1102Tropical: 2Heat: 243Cold: 67Drought: 387Lightning: 120Fog: 50Other: 222

Hail: 1553Tornado: 112Flood: 2101Wind: 5427Winter: 3281Tropical: 70Heat: 394Cold: 440Drought: 225Wildfire: 56Lightning: 241Fog: 88Other: 186

Hail: 1832Tornado: 208Flood: 2584Wind: 7549Winter: 2781Tropical: 12Heat: 267Cold: 422Drought: 33Wildfire: 20Lightning: 141Fog: 64Other: 218

Hail: 838Tornado: 161Flood: 1513Wind: 7331Winter: 2135Tropical: 10Heat: 145Cold: 161Drought: 162Wildfire: 9Lightning: 52Fog: 281Other: 70

1411950s3221960s8431970s1,6371980s8,3111990s14,1742000s16,1312010s12,8682020s

Recorded events in Pennsylvania by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Philadelphia County	1,372	58	1,021.2	8.7	Wind	12	45	25	1,700	Very High
Delaware County	1,342	46	730.1	23.4	Wind	5	63	24	3,034	Relatively Moderate
Lehigh County	1,342	35	388.6	35.7	Wind	15	93	17	967	Relatively Moderate
Northampton County	1,359	32	367.5	43.3	Wind	13	69	24	1,561	Relatively Moderate
Allegheny County	2,594	54	355.4	21.0	Wind	27	445	18	4,832	Relatively High
Montgomery County	1,603	49	331.9	18.6	Wind	19	132	29	6,200	Relatively High
Carbon County	1,115	23	292.4	170.5	Winter	4	44	18	94	Relatively Low
Berks County	2,021	108	236.0	47.1	Wind	30	142	23	1,313	Relatively Moderate
Bucks County	1,417	35	234.5	21.9	Wind	29	103	27	5,260	Relatively High
Chester County	1,752	62	233.4	32.5	Wind	29	102	26	1,914	Relatively Moderate
Beaver County	978	23	225.0	58.7	Wind	25	153	15	832	Relatively Low
Monroe County	1,331	30	218.8	78.6	Winter	14	53	21	436	Relatively Moderate
Lawrence County	714	33	199.8	83.5	Wind	12	105	12	207	Relatively Low
Westmoreland County	1,942	66	189.0	55.0	Wind	50	294	20	1,612	Relatively Moderate
Montour County	210	2	161.2	116.1	Wind	4	17	17	154	Very Low
Lebanon County	581	29	160.6	40.5	Wind	19	55	19	1,005	Relatively Low
Mercer County	960	43	142.7	87.3	Wind	25	160	13	120	Relatively Low
Butler County	1,086	62	137.6	55.9	Wind	31	201	11	874	Relatively Low
Washington County	1,176	38	137.2	56.1	Wind	25	156	14	1,131	Relatively Moderate
Dauphin County	706	29	134.5	24.6	Wind	19	90	22	5,248	Relatively Moderate
Lackawanna County	582	22	126.8	27.0	Wind	12	74	22	1,369	Relatively Moderate
Fayette County	995	59	125.8	78.4	Wind	23	124	18	722	Relatively Moderate
Lancaster County	1,177	89	124.7	21.3	Wind	39	192	22	2,106	Relatively High
York County	1,102	75	121.9	24.0	Wind	32	164	21	1,753	Relatively Moderate
Venango County	805	41	119.4	161.2	Wind	15	94	15	429	Relatively Low
Jefferson County	775	32	118.8	175.7	Wind	17	79	14	373	Relatively Low
Cumberland County	592	23	108.5	22.5	Wind	17	63	19	1,600	Relatively Moderate
Crawford County	1,053	24	104.0	126.3	Wind	44	186	15	330	Relatively Low
Adams County	528	16	101.8	50.7	Wind	17	52	20	400	Relatively Low
Clarion County	610	16	101.5	164.2	Wind	15	69	14	189	Very Low
Cambria County	683	27	99.3	51.7	Wind	20	48	18	802	Relatively Low
Northumberland County	449	9	98.1	49.2	Wind	14	38	19	1,721	Relatively Low
Armstrong County	639	7	97.8	98.2	Wind	11	72	17	437	Relatively Low
Indiana County	783	30	94.6	94.5	Wind	19	108	18	387	Relatively Low
Snyder County	310	7	94.3	78.2	Wind	10	26	17	904	Relatively Low
Union County	296	4	93.7	69.5	Wind	12	15	18	927	Relatively Low
Columbia County	435	9	90.0	67.1	Wind	9	49	20	2,200	Relatively Low
Erie County	701	11	87.7	26.1	Wind	24	206	11	512	Relatively Moderate
Blair County	458	21	87.2	37.6	Wind	3	30	18	1,117	Relatively Low
Luzerne County	738	20	82.9	22.6	Wind	20	93	23	4,147	Relatively Moderate
Wyoming County	321	5	80.8	123.3	Wind	8	25	27	1,189	Relatively Low
Greene County	465	19	80.7	131.5	Wind	10	34	15	265	Relatively Low
Susquehanna County	655	15	79.5	170.6	Wind	13	75	24	506	Relatively Low
Franklin County	597	26	77.3	38.2	Wind	15	87	20	188	Relatively Low
Mifflin County	309	13	75.2	67.0	Wind	5	22	17	487	Relatively Low
Forest County	316	8	74.0	449.4	Wind	10	16	12	14	Very Low
Perry County	407	14	73.8	88.5	Wind	6	34	20	749	Relatively Low
Sullivan County	329	7	73.1	560.7	Wind	13	19	25	134	Very Low
Schuylkill County	519	23	66.7	36.2	Wind	15	51	24	1,041	Relatively Moderate
Bradford County	756	12	65.9	126.2	Wind	21	83	21	898	Relatively Low
Pike County	356	16	65.3	59.4	Wind	8	61	18	219	Relatively Low
Warren County	575	30	65.0	150.8	Wind	19	44	10	126	Relatively Low
Juniata County	254	9	64.9	109.0	Wind	7	14	20	178	Very Low
Somerset County	652	36	60.6	88.6	Wind	15	36	21	395	Relatively Low
Clearfield County	668	56	58.3	83.4	Wind	8	38	17	537	Relatively Low
Fulton County	236	11	53.9	162.5	Wind	6	20	17	16	Very Low
Cameron County	210	3	53.0	471.0	Wind	2	11	11	73	Very Low
McKean County	515	27	52.6	128.9	Wind	5	58	13	158	Relatively Low
Huntingdon County	458	11	52.4	104.4	Wind	10	42	18	531	Relatively Low
Lycoming County	642	25	52.2	56.5	Wind	29	112	21	3,878	Relatively Low
Centre County	573	25	51.7	36.4	Wind	15	83	15	339	Relatively Low
Wayne County	369	18	50.8	71.7	Wind	11	55	25	221	Relatively Low
Tioga County	499	14	44.0	121.9	Wind	7	54	20	234	Relatively Low
Elk County	352	6	42.6	114.3	Wind	16	23	10	322	Relatively Low
Bedford County	410	13	40.5	86.4	Wind	13	41	21	1,185	Relatively Low
Clinton County	357	13	40.2	95.3	Wind	11	37	15	911	Relatively Low
Potter County	398	14	36.8	244.8	Wind	13	36	14	90	Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Beaver County	131	205	63.9	832	$14M
Washington County	298	468	63.7	1,131	$21M
Indiana County	104	171	60.8	387	$2.4M
Butler County	194	326	59.5	874	$15M
Fayette County	106	208	51.0	722	$10M
Montgomery County	1,131	2,284	49.5	6,200	$185M
Westmoreland County	367	752	48.8	1,612	$22M
Berks County	307	684	44.9	1,313	$24M
Allegheny County	824	1,851	44.5	4,832	$82M
Bedford County	98	235	41.7	1,185	$13M
Delaware County	453	1,153	39.3	3,034	$57M
Chester County	368	1,015	36.3	1,914	$38M
Lehigh County	150	423	35.5	967	$12M
Philadelphia County	455	1,383	32.9	1,700	$48M
Susquehanna County	56	176	31.8	506	$13M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Pennsylvania by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Flood	26
Severe Storm	17
Hurricane	9
Snowstorm	5
Biological	2
Tornado	2
Tropical Storm	1
Severe Ice Storm	1
Drought	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
11 Sep 2024	DR-4815	Major disaster	Tropical Storm	Tropical Storm Debby	13
10 Sep 2021	DR-4618	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	13
30 Mar 2020	DR-4506	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	67
13 Mar 2020	EM-3441	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	67
27 Nov 2018	DR-4408	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	11
2 Dec 2016	DR-4292	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	4
23 Mar 2016	DR-4267	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	23
6 Feb 2014	EM-3367	Emergency	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	7
1 Oct 2013	DR-4149	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	11
10 Jan 2013	DR-4099	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	18
29 Oct 2012	EM-3356	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	67
12 Sep 2011	DR-4030	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Lee	34
8 Sep 2011	EM-3340	Emergency	Flood	Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee	42
3 Sep 2011	DR-4025	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	14
29 Aug 2011	EM-3339	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	13

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Pennsylvania by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

77,060 claims, 63,015 paid, $1.4B in total; 8,553 repetitive-loss and 1,292 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Pennsylvania with flood claims (1,082).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Pennsylvania counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Westmoreland (50), Crawford (44) and Lancaster (39), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Pennsylvania counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Montgomery (6,200), Bucks (5,260) and Dauphin (5,248) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Pennsylvania had?

64 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 0 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Pennsylvania compare with the national rate?

121.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 5.9 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.