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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chester, PA

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

38 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chester, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 90 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
36

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
90

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

4 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chester

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Chester, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 21 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 965 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 414 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1054 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 871 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 309 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2858 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 630 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 270 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1663 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1326 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2633 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2842 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1563 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3046 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1929 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 139 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 361 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 192 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 347 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3044 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1772 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 427 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1553 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1626 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1673 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 128 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2941 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1143 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2269 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2456 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2356 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 545 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2933 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2631 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3061 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1928 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2844 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 Chester: 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 Chester

By decade

  • 2020s9(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s9
  • 2000s5
  • 1990s26(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s15
  • 1970s12
  • 1960s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s5(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Chester, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 22, 1955F314 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF312 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 27, 1994F320 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F316 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF219 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Sep 5, 1979F220 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Oct 31, 2019EF29 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
Sep 28, 2004F214 mi5 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1993F222 mi10 mi0 / 0
Jul 17, 1992F219 mi4 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1990F212 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 1989F214 mi2 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 90, 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 Chester 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