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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bethel, PA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bethel, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 60 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
20

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
60

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bethel

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bethel, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 157 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
2020IsaiasAug 446 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2012SandyOct 3040 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
2006ErnestoSep 346 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1992DanielleSep 2664 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1979DavidSep 642 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1955DianeAug 1833 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1354 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1954HazelOct 1652 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 126 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2925 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 174 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1962 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2439 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 313 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 437 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1655 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 136 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2924 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2211 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1463 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 237 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bethel: 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 Bethel

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s11
  • 2000s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s3
  • 1950s8(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Bethel, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 18, 1970F36 mi1.9 mi1 / 5
Jul 14, 2004F322 mi7.5 mi0 / 0
May 31, 1998F320 mi8.3 mi0 / 7
Nov 4, 1950F318 mi15.9 mi0 / 1
Apr 28, 2011EF215 mi1.07 mi0 / 0
Jul 17, 1992F28 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jul 5, 1984F224 mi7 mi0 / 2
Oct 5, 1979F221 mi1 mi0 / 1
Oct 11, 1975F218 mi17.5 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1967F221 mi10.2 mi0 / 11
Nov 19, 1957F221 mi2 mi0 / 0
Sep 12, 1953F220 mi4.7 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 60, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Bethel while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Pennsylvania