NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hamburg, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hamburg, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 54 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 54
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Hamburg
The strongest storm to pass near Hamburg was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Hamburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 55 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1950s, with 4 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 20 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Hamburg has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 54 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 54, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on July 1, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 57% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hamburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 23 times since 1986, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 81% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hamburg.
Compare Hamburg's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hamburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 68 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 5 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hamburg: 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 Hamburg
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s7
- 2000s1
- 1990s12(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1970 | F3 | 16 mi | 1.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 6 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Nov 4, 1950 | F3 | 10 mi | 15.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 17, 1992 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 1992 | F2 | 23 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 12 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Oct 5, 1979 | F2 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F2 | 22 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 54, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hamburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 23 hail reports within 10 miles of Hamburg since 1986, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 10, 2008. The most recent report is from April 15, 2025. July has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hamburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hamburg, PA, in Hamburg at 369 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (28.0 of 49.6 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal August there has highs of 83°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.6 inches is more than at 128 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (86%). Leesport, 8 miles south, has its own station (Blue Marsh Lake, PA): 48.3 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 20 | 3.5 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Feb | 41 | 22 | 2.7 | 6 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 3.7 | 6 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 26 | 3.9 | 7 | 3.7 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 49.6 | 82 | 21.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hamburg, PA (369 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 Hamburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 183 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hamburg: 153 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 4 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $302,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 7, 2019. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 17. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 301 have had fewer than Hamburg.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Hamburg — $100,000 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 Hamburg's ZIP code 19526 have filed 50 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $339,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 11. 28% 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, 276 have fewer than Hamburg.
Berks County, which includes Hamburg, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 6 floods, 4 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berks County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.5 million a year, the 9th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.1 million (58%), 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.