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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cheltenham, PA

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

41 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
5

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
36

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
93

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Cheltenham

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 28 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 965 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 422 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1041 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 869 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3028 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2847 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 628 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1657 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1322 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2652 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1985GloriaSep 2774 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 4
1971DoriaAug 2835 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1559 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3042 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1919 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 136 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 367 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 199 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 355 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3036 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1770 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 423 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1555 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 169 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1671 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1467 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 132 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1074 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2941 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2464 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1142 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2260 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2455 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2362 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 548 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2930 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2628 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3049 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1921 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2840 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s21(2 EF3+)
  • 2010s8
  • 2000s6
  • 1990s23(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s15
  • 1970s4
  • 1960s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s8(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 27, 1994F325 mi2 mi3 / 25
Mar 22, 1955F319 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF317 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 29, 2021EF37 mi3.4 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 1960F323 mi12.9 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF28 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Jul 29, 2021EF221 mi6.31 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF27 mi20.77 mi0 / 18
Oct 31, 2019EF224 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
May 31, 1998F26 mi5.6 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 1989F28 mi2 mi0 / 1
Aug 17, 1988F222 mi4.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 93, 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 Cheltenham 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