NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Freedom, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Freedom, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 71 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 71
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Freedom
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Freedom; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1878, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 57 miles away. The record near Freedom begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 17 miles away. Of the 9 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 79% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Freedom. The strongest of the 71 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 7 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 71, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Freedom has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 160 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Freedom has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Freedom's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Freedom
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Freedom: 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 Freedom
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s6
- 2000s5
- 1990s15
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 7 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 15.32 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1985 | F2 | 21 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jul 20, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1977 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F2 | 7 mi | 45.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 1967 | F2 | 19 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 12, 1956 | F2 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1954 | F2 | 5 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 6.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 71, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Freedom
The Storm Prediction Center has 160 hail reports within 10 miles of Freedom since 1956, made on 90 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 26, 1956. The most recent report is from April 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Freedom
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Montgomery L&D, PA, 8 miles west of Freedom at 690 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 40.7 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. That 40.7 inches is more than at 16 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (11%). Ambridge, 6 miles south, has its own station (Pittsburgh International Airport, PA): 39.6 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 21 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Feb | 38 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.6 | 8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 44 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.7 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Montgomery L&D, PA (690 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 Freedom
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 521 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Freedom: 395 thunderstorm wind reports, 74 flash floods, 42 floods, 8 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $28.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on October 14, 2003. July has had the most flash floods, 21 of 74. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 610 have had fewer than Freedom.
October 14, 2003: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Freedom — 6 injured, $1.0 million damage.
March 25, 1996: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Freedom — 1 injured.
July 5, 2007: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Freedom — $10.0 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
Beaver County, which includes Freedom, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Beaver County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $35.5 million a year, the 27th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.1 million (85%), 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.