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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Leesport, 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

22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Leesport, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 61 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
20

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
61

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Leesport

The strongest storm to pass near Leesport was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 8 miles away. The record near Leesport begins with an unnamed storm in 1863; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 48 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1950s, with 4 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 22 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Leesport has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 61 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 61, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on July 1, 2025. Leesport has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Leesport has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.

Compare Leesport's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Leesport

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Leesport, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 148 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2020IsaiasAug 431 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2012SandyOct 3039 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
2006ErnestoSep 353 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1996BerthaJul 1375 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2658 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1979DavidSep 656 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1955DianeAug 1822 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1366 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 4
1954HazelOct 1666 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 113 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2940 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1953 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2454 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 32 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 425 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1643 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 121 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2911 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2220 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 238 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1974 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Leesport: 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 Leesport

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s9
  • 2000s3
  • 1990s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s7
  • 1970s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s6(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Leesport, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 18, 1970F313 mi1.9 mi1 / 5
May 31, 1998F36 mi8.3 mi0 / 7
Nov 4, 1950F34 mi15.9 mi0 / 1
May 28, 2019EF220 mi3.08 mi0 / 0
Jul 17, 1992F221 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jul 5, 1984F219 mi5 mi0 / 0
Jul 5, 1984F216 mi8 mi0 / 0
Jul 5, 1984F212 mi3 mi0 / 0
Jul 5, 1984F29 mi7 mi0 / 2
Oct 5, 1979F27 mi1 mi0 / 1
Sep 5, 1979F212 mi1 mi0 / 0
Oct 11, 1975F221 mi17.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 61, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Leesport

The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Leesport since 1956, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 22, 2014. The most recent report is from April 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 27.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Leesport

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blue Marsh Lake, PA, 4 miles southwest of Leesport at 350 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (27.1 of 48.3 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal August there has highs of 83°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. That 48.3 inches is more than at 116 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (78%). Mohrsville, 4 miles northwest, has its own station (Hamburg, PA): 49.6 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Blue Marsh Lake, PA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. in
Jan37203.3
Feb40212.6
Mar49293.9
Apr62383.8
May72493.8
Jun80584.8
Jul85635.2
Aug83624.6
Sep77545.0
Oct65424.3
Nov53333.2
Dec42253.8
Year624148.3

Averages for 1991–2020 at Blue Marsh Lake, PA (350 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.

Pennsylvania weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Leesport

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 479 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Leesport: 367 thunderstorm wind reports, 80 flash floods, 12 heavy rain events, 11 floods and 9 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $945,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 6, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 34 of 80. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 636 have had fewer than Leesport.

  • May 27, 2007: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Leesport — 1 injured, $250,000 damage.

  • September 12, 2013: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Leesport — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.

  • May 6, 1997: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Leesport — 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 Leesport's ZIP code 19533 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $355,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 10. 37% 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, 191 have fewer than Leesport.

Berks County, which includes Leesport, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 6 floods, 4 hurricanes, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berks County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.5 million a year, the 9th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $69.1 million (58%), 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 Leesport