States › Pennsylvania › 2003
Pennsylvania, 2003
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 2003 was 1,591 against 1,440 in 2002.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 2003 | Philadelphia | Heat | — | — | 4 | — |
| 14 Jan 2003 | Philadelphia | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 3 | — |
| 16 Feb 2003 | Philadelphia | Winter Storm | — | $4,000,000 | 2 | 1 |
| 23 Jun 2003 | Philadelphia | Heat | — | — | 2 | — |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Perry | High Wind | 69 mph | — | 2 | — |
| 21 Jul 2003 | Crawford | Flash Flood | — | $30,000,000 | 1 | — |
| 14 Oct 2003 | Delaware | Thunderstorm Wind | 64 mph | — | 1 | 1 |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Lehigh | High Wind | 58 mph | $100,000 | 1 | — |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Beaver | Strong Wind | 55 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Jan 2003 | Montgomery | Cold/Wind Chill | — | — | 1 | — |
| 24 Jun 2003 | Chester | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Jun 2003 | Lancaster | Flood | — | — | 1 | — |
| 13 Nov 2003 | York | High Wind | 69 mph | — | 1 | — |
| 14 Oct 2003 | Butler | Thunderstorm Wind | 100 mph | $1,000,000 | — | 6 |
| 18 Jul 2003 | Northumberland | Lightning | — | — | — | 6 |
| 21 Jul 2003 | McKean | Tornado | F1 | $45,700,000 | — | — |
| 19 Nov 2003 | Philadelphia | Strong Wind | 49 mph | $50,000 | — | 3 |
| 16 Aug 2003 | Bradford | Lightning | — | — | — | 2 |
| 16 Feb 2003 | Forecast zone | Heavy Snow | — | — | — | 2 |
| 24 Apr 2003 | Chester | Strong Wind | 31 mph | — | — | 2 |
| 23 Sep 2003 | Delaware | Thunderstorm Wind | 70 mph | $1,000,000 | — | 1 |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Bucks | High Wind | 58 mph | $500,000 | — | 1 |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Philadelphia | High Wind | 58 mph | $200,000 | — | 1 |
| 13 Nov 2003 | Berks | High Wind | 58 mph | $100,000 | — | 1 |
| 21 Jul 2003 | Forest | Thunderstorm Wind | 58 mph | $1,000 | — | 1 |
| 21 Jul 2003 | Lehigh | Flash Flood | — | — | — | 1 |
| 3 Aug 2003 | Lehigh | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 19 Sep 2003 | Philadelphia | Storm Surge/Tide | — | — | — | 1 |
| 21 Jul 2003 | Crawford | Flash Flood | — | $10,000,000 | — | — |
| 20 Jun 2003 | Chester | Flood | — | — | — | 1 |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Montgomery | High Wind | 58 mph | $7,000,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Chester | High Wind | 58 mph | $6,680,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Delaware | High Wind | 58 mph | $5,240,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Bucks | High Wind | 58 mph | $5,010,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 2003 | Lackawanna | Flash Flood | — | $5,000,000 | — | — |
| 15 Sep 2003 | Chester | Flash Flood | — | $3,540,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Philadelphia | High Wind | 58 mph | $3,020,000 | — | — |
| 4 Sep 2003 | Wayne | Flash Flood | — | $1,500,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Northampton | High Wind | 60 mph | $1,150,000 | — | — |
| 18 Sep 2003 | Berks | High Wind | 58 mph | $1,100,000 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 2003
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Sep 2003 | DR-1497 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Tropical Storms Henri And Isabel And Related Severe Storms And Flooding | 1 |
| 23 Aug 2003 | DR-1485 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | 14 |
| 14 Mar 2003 | EM-3180 | Emergency | Severe Storm | Snow | 36 |
Flood insurance claims with a 2003 date of loss
1,094 NFIP claims, 775 of them paid, for $10,437,589.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.