NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Carlisle, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Carlisle, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 72 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 72
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Carlisle
The strongest storm to pass near Carlisle was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 87 mph winds when its centre passed 28 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 14 miles. The record near Carlisle begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 72 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 24 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Carlisle has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 72 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on July 14, 2004, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on December 1, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 72, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on August 9, 2024. Carlisle has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 70% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Carlisle has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Carlisle's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Carlisle
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 14 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 28 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 51 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 Carlisle: 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 Carlisle
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s13
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s7
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2004 | F3 | 19 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1952 | F3 | 22 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 5 mi | 2.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 9, 1992 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1991 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 1989 | F2 | 22 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 31, 1985 | F2 | 4 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 7, 1980 | F2 | 13 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1977 | F2 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 11, 1975 | F2 | 24 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 72, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Carlisle
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Carlisle since 1958, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 1, 1976. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. June has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Carlisle
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Harrisburg Cptl Cy Airport, PA, 4 miles east of Carlisle at 340 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 41.1 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (22.3 of 41.1 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 26 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 41.1 inches is more than at 22 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (15%). Lemoyne, 3 miles northeast, has its own station (Harrisburg 1 NE, PA): 45.3 inches a year, 4.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 25 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 43 | 26 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Mar | 53 | 34 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 65 | 43 | 3.7 | 7 |
| May | 75 | 53 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Jul | 88 | 67 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Aug | 85 | 66 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 67 | 47 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Nov | 55 | 37 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Dec | 44 | 30 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Year | 65 | 46 | 41.1 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Harrisburg Cptl Cy Airport, PA (340 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 Carlisle
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 281 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Carlisle: 251 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 8 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 93 mph, on June 20, 2001. September has had the most flash floods, 5 of 20. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 334 have had fewer than Carlisle.
June 19, 2007: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 1 killed, 1 injured.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 4 injured.
April 16, 2010: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Carlisle — 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 Carlisle's 2 ZIP codes have filed 134 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $905,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1984: 24 claims (18% of all) and $59,000, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 17 and Not a named storm in 1979 with 14. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 21. 44% 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, 418 have fewer than Carlisle.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1984 | 24 | $59,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 17 | $371,000 |
| Not a named storm1979 | 14 | $15,000 |
Cumberland County, which includes Carlisle, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cumberland County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $68.7 million a year, the 16th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $49.7 million (72%), 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.