NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Harrisburg, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 23
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Harrisburg
The strongest storm to pass near Harrisburg was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 87 mph winds when its centre passed 26 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 20 miles. The record near Harrisburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 73 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 25 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Harrisburg has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 14, 2004, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on December 1, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 79, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on August 9, 2024. Harrisburg has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 76 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Harrisburg has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Harrisburg's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Harrisburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 20 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 26 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Harrisburg: 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 Harrisburg
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s14
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s19
- 1980s4
- 1970s9
- 1960s7
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2004 | F3 | 13 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1952 | F3 | 24 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 16 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 9, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1992 | F2 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1991 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 1989 | F2 | 24 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 31, 1985 | F2 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 7, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1977 | F2 | 3 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 11, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Harrisburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 76 hail reports within 10 miles of Harrisburg since 1958, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 1, 1976. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Harrisburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Harrisburg 1 NE, PA, 2 miles west of Harrisburg at 420 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 45.3 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (24.4 of 45.3 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.9 inches a year, most of it in February. That 45.3 inches is more than at 81 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (55%). Steelton, 4 miles south, has its own station (Harrisburg Cptl Cy Airport, PA): 41.1 inches a year, 4.2 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 22 | 2.9 | 6 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 40 | 23 | 2.8 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 48 | 30 | 3.9 | 6 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 61 | 40 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.4 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 62 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 41 | 27 | 3.4 | 7 | 4.2 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 45.3 | 82 | 23.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Harrisburg 1 NE, PA (420 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 Harrisburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 313 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Harrisburg: 278 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 13 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 14, 2026. September has had the most flash floods, 5 of 20. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 334 have had fewer than Harrisburg.
June 19, 2007: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — 1 killed, 1 injured.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — 4 injured.
April 2, 2005: flood 8 miles from the centre of Harrisburg — $500,000 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 Harrisburg's 8 ZIP codes have filed 2,913 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $37.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 898 claims (31% of all) and $8.9 million, then Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 with 872 and Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 484. The year with the most claims was 2011, with 986. 81% 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, 552 have fewer than Harrisburg.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 898 | $8.9 million |
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 872 | $18.0 million |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 484 | $8.0 million |
| Not a named storm1979 | 54 | $76,000 |
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 18 | $189,000 |
| Hurricane Ida2021 | 13 | $138,000 |
Dauphin County, which includes Harrisburg, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dauphin County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $99.8 million a year, the 11th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $75.0 million (75%), 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.