NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Homestead, 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 Homestead, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 67 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 67
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Homestead
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Homestead; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Homestead begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 22 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 Homestead. The strongest of the 67 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 3, 1980; its path came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1985, killed 9 people. Of the 67, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Homestead has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 227 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Homestead has more hail reports within 10 miles than 99% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Homestead
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Homestead: 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 Homestead
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s11
- 2000s4
- 1990s10
- 1980s8(2 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 1980 | F4 | 20 mi | 11.8 mi | 0 / 140 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 24 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| Aug 3, 1963 | F3 | 5 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 70 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F3 | 22 mi | 11.8 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF2 | 13 mi | 10.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 5.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 21, 2021 | EF2 | 19 mi | 15.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2011 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1990 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 8 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Apr 28, 1981 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 25 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 67, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Homestead
The Storm Prediction Center has 227 hail reports within 10 miles of Homestead since 1963, made on 114 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 14, 1984. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. July has the most reports, 59.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Homestead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pittsburgh Allegheny Co Airport, PA, 3 miles south of Homestead at 1,248 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 41.3 inches over 89 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 106 nights a year. That 41.3 inches is more than at 27 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (18%). Braddock, 2 miles east, has its own station (Mckeesport, PA): 42.4 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 22 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Feb | 40 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 49 | 31 | 3.2 | 8 |
| Apr | 63 | 42 | 3.4 | 9 |
| May | 72 | 52 | 4.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 79 | 60 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Aug | 81 | 63 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Sep | 75 | 56 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 45 | 3.1 | 8 |
| Nov | 51 | 35 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 28 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 44 | 41.3 | 89 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pittsburgh Allegheny Co Airport, PA (1,248 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 Homestead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 1,022 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Homestead: 630 thunderstorm wind reports, 313 flash floods, 64 floods, 13 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 74, and the NWS estimated $79.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on May 31, 2002. July has had the most flash floods, 118 of 313. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 787 have had fewer than Homestead.
August 19, 2011: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Homestead — 4 killed, 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
May 31, 2002: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Homestead — 1 killed, 54 injured, $10.0 million damage.
June 30, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Homestead — 10 injured, $41.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Homestead's ZIP code 15120 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $4,981 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 18% 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, 14 have fewer than Homestead.
Allegheny County, which includes Homestead, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allegheny County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding; Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $354.2 million a year, the 2nd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $295.0 million (83%), 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 Homestead
- West Mifflin, PA2 mi
- Braddock, PA2 mi
- Duquesne, PA3 mi
- East Pittsburgh, PA4 mi
- Turtle Creek, PA4 mi
- Pittsburgh, PA5 mi
- Glassport, PA5 mi
- North Versailles, PA5 mi
- East Mc Keesport, PA5 mi
- Mckeesport, PA5 mi
- Wilmerding, PA5 mi
- White Oak, PA6 mi
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