Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Broomall, 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

35 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Broomall, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
33

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
101

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

7 deaths in all

What the records show for Broomall

The strongest storm to pass near Broomall was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The record near Broomall begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 7 miles away. The 1870s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 35 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Broomall has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on September 1, 2021, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 27, 1994, killed 3 people. Of the 101, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Broomall has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1957, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Broomall has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.

Compare Broomall's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Broomall

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Broomall, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 27 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 970 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 411 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1054 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3018 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2859 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 635 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 371 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1667 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1330 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2637 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2845 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1567 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3050 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1920 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 132 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 369 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1910 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 345 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3047 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 420 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1559 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1624 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 124 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2935 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1148 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2261 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2460 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2353 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 552 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2938 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2635 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3062 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1931 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2848 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s14(2 EF3+)
  • 2010s9
  • 2000s5
  • 1990s29(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s18
  • 1970s10
  • 1960s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Broomall, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 27, 1994F320 mi2 mi3 / 25
Mar 22, 1955F38 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF317 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 29, 2021EF322 mi3.4 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 1994F324 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F324 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF211 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Sep 5, 1979F224 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Aug 4, 2020EF222 mi20.77 mi0 / 18
Oct 31, 2019EF29 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
Sep 28, 2004F221 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 31, 1998F220 mi5.6 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Broomall

The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Broomall since 1957, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 3, 1967. The most recent report is from May 3, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Broomall since 2019 →

Weather by month in Broomall

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Norristown, PA, 9 miles north of Broomall at 62 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 23°F. August is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 50.7 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (26.7 of 50.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 35 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (15); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 39 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 107 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 50.7 inches is more than at 133 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (90%). Havertown, 3 miles east, has its own station (Phila Franklin Inst, PA): 50.9 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Marcus Hook, PA, 12 miles south, averaged 82°F in July and 39°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Philadelphia tide gauge, 12 miles from Broomall, has risen 1.24 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1900 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 12.4 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 73 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Norristown, PA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan42233.776.839
Feb44253.0610.939
Mar52324.473.046
Apr65423.980.255
May75524.380.064
Jun84624.280.074
Jul89674.780.082
Aug87655.070.081
Sep80584.960.075
Oct68454.370.166
Nov57353.670.155
Dec46284.784.243
Year664450.78625.360

Averages for 1991–2020 at Norristown, PA (62 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Marcus Hook, PA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Pennsylvania weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Broomall

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 808 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Broomall: 512 thunderstorm wind reports, 194 flash floods, 67 floods, 24 lightning strikes and 11 heavy rain events. They killed 10 people and injured 21, and the NWS estimated $116.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on April 4, 2025. August has had the most flash floods, 72 of 194. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 748 have had fewer than Broomall.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Broomall — 2 killed, $21.0 million damage.

  • December 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Broomall — 2 killed, $20,000 damage.

  • October 14, 2003: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Broomall — 1 killed, 1 injured.

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 Broomall's ZIP code 19008 have filed 66 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Isaias in 2020: 10 claims (15% of all) and $1.0 million. 35% 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, 313 have fewer than Broomall.

Flood insurance claims in Broomall by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Isaias202010$1.0 million

Delaware County, which includes Broomall, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Delaware County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and coastal flooding; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $134.9 million a year, the 7th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $73.9 million (55%), 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 Broomall