Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Conestoga, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Safe Harbor Dam, PA, 2 miles southwest of Conestoga at 195 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 46.5 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 46.5 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 23 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal August there has highs of 84°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 87 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.5 inches is more than at 94 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (64%). Willow Street, 5 miles east, has its own station (Lancaster 2NE Fltr Plt, PA): 44.2 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 222 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Conestoga: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 flash floods, 8 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $957,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 1, 2007. July has had the most flash floods, 14 of 31. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 432 have had fewer than Conestoga.

Flood insurance policyholders in Conestoga's ZIP code 17516 have filed 27 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $112,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1978, with 11. 19% 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, 170 have fewer than Conestoga.