NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clearfield, 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
13 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Clearfield, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 18 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 18
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Clearfield
The strongest storm to pass near Clearfield was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 78 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The record near Clearfield begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 49 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 13 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Clearfield. The strongest of the 18 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 11, 1976, killed 1 person. Of the 18, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on May 4, 2021. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clearfield. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 10 times since 1971, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 96% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clearfield.
Compare Clearfield's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Clearfield
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 47 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Clearfield: 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 Clearfield
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s4
- 1990s5
- 1980s2(1 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F4 | 11 mi | 69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F2 | 24 mi | 28.7 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 22 mi | 27.4 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 26, 1994 | F2 | 21 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 2021 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 21, 2018 | EF1 | 22 mi | 2.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2009 | EF1 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2005 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 2001 | F1 | 11 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2001 | F1 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1981 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1970 | F1 | 24 mi | 10.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 18, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clearfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 10 hail reports within 10 miles of Clearfield since 1971. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently August 27, 1994. The most recent report is from June 16, 2008. June and July have the most reports, 3 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clearfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Clearfield Lawrence Airport, PA, 2 miles northeast of Clearfield at 1,516 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 18°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.4 inches over 88 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (21.7 of 40.4 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. That 40.4 inches is more than at 13 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (9%). Morrisdale, 13 miles east, has its own station (Philipsburg 2 S, PA): 42.0 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 18 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Feb | 38 | 19 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Mar | 47 | 26 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 60 | 36 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 70 | 46 | 3.7 | 9 |
| Jun | 78 | 55 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Jul | 82 | 59 | 3.6 | 8 |
| Aug | 81 | 57 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 2.9 | 8 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 40.4 | 88 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Clearfield Lawrence Airport, PA (1,516 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 Clearfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clearfield: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $270,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on March 16, 2025. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 112 have had fewer than Clearfield.
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 Clearfield's ZIP code 16830 have filed 68 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $291,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004: 12 claims (18% of all) and $110,000. 32% 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, 318 have fewer than Clearfield.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 12 | $110,000 |
Clearfield County, which includes Clearfield, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Debby, on September 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clearfield County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.3 million a year, the 41st highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.2 million (77%), 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 Clearfield
- Woodland, PA6 mi
- Curwensville, PA8 mi
- Morrisdale, PA13 mi
- Houtzdale, PA14 mi
- Osceola Mills, PA14 mi
- Philipsburg, PA15 mi
- Du Bois, PA17 mi
- Coalport, PA19 mi
- Kersey, PA23 mi
- Reynoldsville, PA24 mi
- Brockway, PA24 mi
- Port Matilda, PA26 mi
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