NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Johnstown, 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
13 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Johnstown, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 50 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 50
- 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 Johnstown
None of the 13 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Johnstown; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1893, a tropical storm with 72 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The record near Johnstown begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 6 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 13 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 61% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Johnstown. The strongest of the 50 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 2, 1998; its path came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 11, 1976, killed 1 person. Of the 50, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on March 16, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Johnstown. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 73% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Johnstown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Johnstown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Johnstown: 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 Johnstown
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s10
- 2000s1
- 1990s14(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1998 | F4 | 25 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F3 | 21 mi | 11.8 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 15, 1997 | F2 | 19 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 18 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 19 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1956 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 30, 1953 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1951 | F2 | 17 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 16, 2025 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 16, 2025 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 50, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Johnstown
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Johnstown since 1960, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 17, 1960. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Johnstown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Johnstown Cambria Co Airport, PA, 4 miles east of Johnstown at 2,284 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.2 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (22.8 of 41.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs of 90°F are rare: fewer than one day a year on average. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. That 41.2 inches is more than at 23 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (16%). New Florence, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Laurel Mountain, PA): 49.5 inches a year, 8.3 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 19 | 2.5 | 7 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 45 | 28 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 58 | 38 | 3.5 | 9 |
| May | 68 | 49 | 4.1 | 10 |
| Jun | 75 | 57 | 4.4 | 9 |
| Jul | 79 | 61 | 4.2 | 9 |
| Aug | 77 | 60 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Sep | 71 | 53 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Oct | 59 | 43 | 3.1 | 8 |
| Nov | 47 | 33 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Year | 57 | 41 | 41.2 | 92 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Johnstown Cambria Co Airport, PA (2,284 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 Johnstown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 245 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Johnstown: 220 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $562,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 23, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 19. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 321 have had fewer than Johnstown.
June 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Johnstown — 4 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “Cambria County emergency management and fire rescue reported multiple tents and a tower were blown down at an outside event called Thunder in the Valley. A performing stage also collapsed.”
April 1, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Johnstown — 1 injured.
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 Johnstown's 6 ZIP codes have filed 579 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 141 claims (24% of all) and $991,000. 26% 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, 536 have fewer than Johnstown.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 141 | $991,000 |
Cambria County, which includes Johnstown, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Debby, on September 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cambria County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $31.6 million a year, the 31st highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.9 million (76%), 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 Johnstown
- Davidsville, PA5 mi
- Mineral Point, PA7 mi
- Hollsopple, PA7 mi
- South Fork, PA7 mi
- Windber, PA7 mi
- Seward, PA9 mi
- New Florence, PA10 mi
- Summerhill, PA10 mi
- Sidman, PA11 mi
- Nanty Glo, PA12 mi
- Boswell, PA13 mi
- Portage, PA14 mi
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