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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Gladwyne, 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

35 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
32

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
94

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

6 deaths in all

What the records show for Gladwyne

The strongest storm to pass near Gladwyne was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1878, whose centre came within 54 miles. The record near Gladwyne begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 10 miles away. The 1870s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 35 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Gladwyne has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 89% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on September 1, 2021, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 27, 1994, killed 3 people. Of the 94, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on August 10, 2023. Gladwyne has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1957, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Gladwyne has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.

Compare Gladwyne's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Gladwyne

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 210 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 970 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 414 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1051 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3024 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2856 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 635 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1665 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1329 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2645 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2843 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1566 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3049 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1917 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 131 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 371 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1912 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 347 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3045 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 419 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1560 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1618 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 125 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2935 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2473 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1148 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2258 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2461 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2354 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 553 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2937 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2635 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3058 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1929 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2847 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 Gladwyne: 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 Gladwyne

By decade

  • 2020s16(2 EF3+)
  • 2010s8
  • 2000s5
  • 1990s25(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s18
  • 1970s7
  • 1960s8
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 27, 1994F318 mi2 mi3 / 25
Mar 22, 1955F310 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF318 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 29, 2021EF316 mi3.4 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF25 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Aug 4, 2020EF216 mi20.77 mi0 / 18
Oct 31, 2019EF215 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
May 31, 1998F214 mi5.6 mi0 / 0
Jul 17, 1992F225 mi4 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1990F224 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 1989F29 mi2 mi0 / 1
Aug 17, 1988F224 mi1.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Gladwyne

The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Gladwyne since 1957, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 10 days, most recently June 6, 2023. The most recent report is from May 3, 2025. June has the most reports, 26.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Gladwyne

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Norristown, PA, 6 miles northwest of Gladwyne at 62 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 23°F. August is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 50.7 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (26.7 of 50.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 35 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 39 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 107 nights a year. Snowfall averages 25.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 50.7 inches is more than at 133 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (90%). Narberth, 2 miles southeast, has its own station (Phila Franklin Inst, PA): 50.9 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 89°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Philadelphia, PA, 11 miles southeast, averaged 80°F in July and 38°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July. Sea level at the Philadelphia tide gauge, 11 miles from Gladwyne, has risen 1.24 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1900 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 12.4 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 73 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Norristown, PA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan42233.776.838
Feb44253.0610.938
Mar52324.473.045
Apr65423.980.254
May75524.380.063
Jun84624.280.073
Jul89674.780.080
Aug87655.070.079
Sep80584.960.074
Oct68454.370.165
Nov57353.670.154
Dec46284.784.243
Year664450.78625.359

Averages for 1991–2020 at Norristown, PA (62 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Philadelphia, PA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Pennsylvania weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Gladwyne

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 807 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Gladwyne: 524 thunderstorm wind reports, 193 flash floods, 62 floods, 17 lightning strikes and 11 heavy rain events. They killed 8 people and injured 25, and the NWS estimated $116.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 22, 2019. August has had the most flash floods, 67 of 193. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 746 have had fewer than Gladwyne.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Gladwyne — 2 killed, $21.0 million damage.

  • December 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Gladwyne — 2 killed, $20,000 damage.

  • October 14, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Gladwyne — 1 killed, 1 injured.

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 Gladwyne's ZIP code 19035 have filed 111 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $2.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ida in 2021: 21 claims (19% of all) and $1.5 million, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 14 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 13. 67% 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, 392 have fewer than Gladwyne.

Flood insurance claims in Gladwyne by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Ida202121$1.5 million
Not a named storm197914$55,000
Hurricane Floyd199913$347,000

Montgomery County, which includes Gladwyne, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $296.7 million a year, the 3rd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $192.6 million (65%), 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 Gladwyne