NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Athens, PA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Athens, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was David in 1979. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Athens
The strongest storm to pass near Athens was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. The record near Athens begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was David in 1979, a tropical storm 30 miles away. The 1870s and the 1970s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. None of the 11 systems has come since 2000. Athens has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 20 miles. Of the 32, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 28, 2019. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Athens. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 52 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Athens.
Compare Athens's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Athens
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 66 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 65 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Athens: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Athens
By decade
- 2010s12
- 2000s5
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3(2 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 62 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 6 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 13, 2018 | EF2 | 19 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 19 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 1954 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF1 | 7 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2016 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 2, 2014 | EF1 | 13 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 2012 | EF1 | 8 mi | 13.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 2012 | EF1 | 16 mi | 8.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Athens
The Storm Prediction Center has 52 hail reports within 10 miles of Athens since 1975, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 36 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on September 6, 2012. The most recent report is from July 13, 2023. June has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Athens
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waverly, NY, 4 miles north of Athens at 845 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 16°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 36.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 58% of the year's precipitation (21.2 of 36.7 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal October there has highs of 62°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. That 36.7 inches is more than at 2 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (1%). Towanda, 13 miles south, has its own station (Towanda 1 S, PA): 38.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 16 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Feb | 37 | 17 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 3.4 | 8 |
| May | 71 | 45 | 3.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 54 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 58 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Nov | 50 | 30 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Year | 60 | 37 | 36.7 | 76 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waverly, NY (845 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Athens
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 170 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Athens: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 flash floods, 12 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $53.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 26, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 21 of 49. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 525 have had fewer than Athens.
June 2, 2000: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Athens — 1 injured.
September 7, 2011: flood 5 miles from the centre of Athens — $16.0 million damage.
September 7, 2011: flood 3 miles from the centre of Athens — $15.3 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Athens's ZIP code 18810 have filed 133 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $8.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011: 78 claims (59% of all) and $7.6 million, then Flooding in 1996 with 11. 71% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 553 Pennsylvania cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 417 have fewer than Athens.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 78 | $7.6 million |
| Flooding1996 | 11 | $166,000 |
Bradford County, which includes Athens, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bradford County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.2 million a year, the 30th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.3 million (88%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Athens
- Sayre, PA3 mi
- Waverly, NY5 mi
- Nichols, NY9 mi
- Barton, NY9 mi
- Rome, PA11 mi
- Towanda, PA13 mi
- Gillett, PA14 mi
- Columbia Cross Roads, PA15 mi
- Owego, NY17 mi
- Erin, NY18 mi
- Elmira, NY19 mi
- Spencer, NY20 mi
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