NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fayetteville, 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
22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fayetteville, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 49
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Fayetteville
The strongest storm to pass near Fayetteville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 45 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Fayetteville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 11 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 22 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Fayetteville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 49 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 22, 1983, came within 20 miles. Of the 49, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 8 each. The most recent tornado was on May 27, 2022. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fayetteville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fayetteville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fayetteville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 13 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 45 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fayetteville: 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 Fayetteville
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s5
- 2000s10
- 1990s18
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1983 | F3 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1961 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 16 mi | 2.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1994 | F2 | 3 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 21, 1976 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1954 | F2 | 16 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2011 | EF1 | 6 mi | 0.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2011 | EF1 | 19 mi | 2.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 2005 | F1 | 12 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 2005 | F1 | 17 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 2005 | F1 | 17 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F1 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 49, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fayetteville
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Fayetteville since 1965, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 29, 1976. The most recent report is from September 7, 2023. May has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fayetteville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is S Mountain, PA, 3 miles south of Fayetteville at 1,520 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 21°F. September is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 48.6 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (24.9 of 48.6 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal October there has highs of 61°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.6 inches is more than at 120 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (81%). Chambersburg, 9 miles west, has its own station (Chambersburg 1 ESE, PA): 43.4 inches a year, 5.2 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 21 | 3.7 | 7 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 39 | 21 | 2.9 | 6 | 9.5 |
| Mar | 47 | 28 | 4.4 | 7 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.6 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 58 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 62 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 60 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 53 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 3.8 | 7 | 5.2 |
| Year | 59 | 41 | 48.6 | 85 | 33.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at S Mountain, PA (1,520 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 Fayetteville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 133 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fayetteville: 118 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods and 7 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $9.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 21, 2020. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 7. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 112 have had fewer than Fayetteville.
July 21, 2020: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — 1 injured, $90,000 damage.
NWS: “A severe thunderstorm microburst produced straight line wind damage in Fayetteville, PA. Approximately 100 trees were downed by strong winds along a path approximately 700 yards long and 100 yards wide.”
July 21, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down a tree onto a golfer, who was injured, at the Chambersburg Country Club.”
June 21, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Fayetteville — $8.0 million damage.
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 Fayetteville's ZIP code 17222 have filed 26 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $129,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% 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, 163 have fewer than Fayetteville.
Franklin County, which includes Fayetteville, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Franklin County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $37.7 million a year, the 24th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $26.0 million (69%), 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 Fayetteville
- Orrtanna, PA8 mi
- Chambersburg, PA9 mi
- Waynesboro, PA9 mi
- Shippensburg, PA11 mi
- Fairfield, PA12 mi
- Biglerville, PA12 mi
- Greencastle, PA14 mi
- Orrstown, PA14 mi
- Saint Thomas, PA15 mi
- Gettysburg, PA16 mi
- Aspers, PA17 mi
- Smithsburg, MD17 mi
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