NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Berlin, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Berlin, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 31
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Berlin
The strongest storm to pass near Berlin was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 74 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The record near Berlin begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 31 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 12 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Berlin. The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 2, 1998; its path came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 31, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on August 31, 2024. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Berlin. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 9 times since 1971, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Berlin.
Compare Berlin's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Berlin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 53 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | overhead | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Berlin: 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 Berlin
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s4
- 2000s2
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s4
- 1960s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1998 | F4 | 8 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 14 mi | 13 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 13 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1969 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 13, 1956 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 1951 | F2 | 8 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 29, 2021 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2021 | EF1 | 25 mi | 4.93 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2018 | EF1 | 12 mi | 0.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2018 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1998 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Berlin
The Storm Prediction Center has 9 hail reports within 10 miles of Berlin since 1971, made on 8 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on June 6, 1971. The most recent report is from August 29, 2024.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Berlin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Meyersdale 2 SSW, PA, 12 miles southwest of Berlin at 2,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February and November the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 41.8 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (21.4 of 41.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.8 inches is more than at 32 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (22%). Friedens, 8 miles north, has its own station (Laurel Summit, PA): 56.5 inches a year, 14.7 more than here, and a July average high of 75°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 3.0 | 8 | 12.9 |
| Feb | 38 | 17 | 2.7 | 7 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 46 | 24 | 3.7 | 8 | 9.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 33 | 3.5 | 9 | 1.1 |
| May | 68 | 43 | 4.4 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 52 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 56 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 54 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 49 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.8 |
| Dec | 39 | 21 | 3.1 | 7 | 6.9 |
| Year | 58 | 36 | 41.8 | 92 | 45.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Meyersdale 2 SSW, PA (2,000 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 Berlin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 96 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Berlin: 74 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 5 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 8, 2022. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 267 have had fewer than Berlin.
July 24, 2012: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Berlin — 1 killed, 1 injured.
August 25, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Berlin — 1 killed, $5,000 damage.
May 13, 2025: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Berlin — 1 injured, $10,000 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
Somerset County, which includes Berlin, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 snowstorms, 4 hurricanes, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Somerset County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.9 million a year, the 42nd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.0 million (82%), 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 Berlin
- Friedens, PA8 mi
- Meyersdale, PA10 mi
- Somerset, PA10 mi
- Stoystown, PA11 mi
- Central City, PA13 mi
- Hyndman, PA15 mi
- Rockwood, PA15 mi
- Salisbury, PA15 mi
- Schellsburg, PA17 mi
- Boswell, PA18 mi
- Hollsopple, PA19 mi
- Frostburg, MD20 mi
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