NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Imperial, 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
7 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Imperial, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 7
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Imperial
None of the 7 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Imperial; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1878, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 57 miles away. The record near Imperial begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 29 miles away. Of the 7 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 98% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Imperial. The highest rating among the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 23 miles. Of the 62, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Imperial has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 133 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Imperial has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Imperial
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 57 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 Imperial: 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 Imperial
By decade
- 2020s22
- 2010s6
- 2000s2
- 1990s9
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 23 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| Aug 3, 1963 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 70 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF2 | 17 mi | 5.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 15.32 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 21, 2021 | EF2 | 14 mi | 15.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1990 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 23 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F2 | 8 mi | 45.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1956 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 12, 1956 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1954 | F2 | 20 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 21, 2025 | EF1 | 15 mi | 13.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Imperial
The Storm Prediction Center has 133 hail reports within 10 miles of Imperial since 1962, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 78 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 25, 2024. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Imperial
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pittsburgh International Airport, PA, 3 miles northeast of Imperial at 1,203 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 86 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 114 nights a year. Snowfall averages 44.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 11 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (7%). Sewickley, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (Emsworth L/D Ohio Rvr, PA): 38.3 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 21 | 3.0 | 7 | 13.3 |
| Feb | 40 | 23 | 2.6 | 7 | 11.7 |
| Mar | 49 | 30 | 3.2 | 8 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 62 | 41 | 3.3 | 9 | 1.0 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 55 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 44 | 2.8 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 51 | 34 | 2.9 | 7 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 41 | 27 | 2.8 | 7 | 7.7 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 39.6 | 86 | 44.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pittsburgh International Airport, PA (1,203 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 Imperial
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 426 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Imperial: 313 thunderstorm wind reports, 76 flash floods, 27 floods and 10 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 24, 2014. July has had the most flash floods, 31 of 76. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 622 have had fewer than Imperial.
June 8, 2021: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Imperial — 1 injured.
April 11, 2024: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Imperial — $965,000 damage.
April 11, 2024: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Imperial — $101,000 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 Imperial's ZIP code 15126 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $166,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 12% 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, 155 have fewer than Imperial.
Allegheny County, which includes Imperial, 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 Imperial
- Oakdale, PA5 mi
- Coraopolis, PA5 mi
- Clinton, PA6 mi
- Mc Donald, PA7 mi
- Crescent, PA7 mi
- Sewickley, PA9 mi
- Burgettstown, PA9 mi
- Carnegie, PA10 mi
- Mc Kees Rocks, PA10 mi
- Ambridge, PA10 mi
- Aliquippa, PA10 mi
- Bridgeville, PA11 mi
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