Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hazleton, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mahanoy City 2 N, PA, 12 miles southwest of Hazleton at 1,710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 18°F. July and September are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 53.7 inches over 96 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (29.2 of 53.7 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal August there has highs of 78°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.7 inches is more than at 145 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (98%). Wapwallopen, 11 miles northwest, has its own station (Benton 3 NE, PA): 48.6 inches a year, 5.1 less than here, and the same July average high, 80°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 84 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hazleton: 67 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $718,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 7, 2011. September has had the most flash floods, 5 of 13. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 224 have had fewer than Hazleton.

Flood insurance policyholders in Hazleton's ZIP code 18201 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $426,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 30% 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, 203 have fewer than Hazleton.