Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bethlehem, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Allentown International Airport, PA, 4 miles west of Bethlehem at 390 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 47.4 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (26.4 of 47.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.4 inches is more than at 108 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (73%). Hellertown, 4 miles southeast, has its own station (Springtown 1 NNE, PA): 53.3 inches a year, 5.9 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 86°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 523 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bethlehem: 367 thunderstorm wind reports, 92 flash floods, 32 floods, 21 lightning strikes and 11 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $69.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 13, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 31 of 92. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 663 have had fewer than Bethlehem.

Flood insurance policyholders in Bethlehem's 4 ZIP codes have filed 355 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004: 78 claims (22% of all) and $2.1 million, then Hurricane Irene in 2011 with 37 and Hurricane Isaias in 2020 with 29. 63% 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, 507 have fewer than Bethlehem.