NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lewistown, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Lewistown, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 37
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Lewistown
The strongest storm to pass near Lewistown was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 87 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 12 miles. The record near Lewistown begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 36 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 16 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Lewistown has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 10 times; the most recent, on April 19, 2019, passed within a mile of the city centre. Of the 37, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on July 2, 2023. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lewistown. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 22 times since 1985, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lewistown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lewistown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 12 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 70 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 24 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 Lewistown: 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 Lewistown
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s10
- 2000s4
- 1990s7
- 1980s6
- 1970s5
- 1960s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | in town | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2011 | EF2 | 21 mi | 4.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1991 | F2 | 13 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 20, 1989 | F2 | 11 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1989 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 9, 1980 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1975 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 1967 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 19, 1955 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1952 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lewistown
The Storm Prediction Center has 22 hail reports within 10 miles of Lewistown since 1985, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on June 16, 2022. The most recent report is from June 9, 2025. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lewistown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lewistown, PA, in Lewistown at 460 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 21°F. September is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 42.3 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (22.5 of 42.3 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. Snowfall averages 26.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.3 inches is more than at 41 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (28%). Mc Clure, 15 miles northeast, has its own station (Millheim, PA): 42.4 inches a year, 0.1 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 21 | 2.9 | 6 | 9.1 |
| Feb | 40 | 22 | 2.3 | 6 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 3.6 | 7 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.2 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 54 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 43 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 41 | 26 | 3.3 | 7 | 4.7 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 42.3 | 83 | 26.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lewistown, PA (460 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 Lewistown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 145 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lewistown: 142 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $442,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 5, 2002.
July 26, 2012: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Lewistown — 1 killed.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down several large tree branches at the Derry Township Community Park in south Burnham along Derry Park Road and Logan Boulevard. A 16-year-old female was killed when a falling tree branch struck her in the head.”
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 Lewistown's ZIP code 17044 have filed 181 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 77 claims (43% of all) and $438,000, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 41 and Not a named storm in 1979 with 14. 76% 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, 459 have fewer than Lewistown.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 77 | $438,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 41 | $430,000 |
| Not a named storm1979 | 14 | $33,000 |
Mifflin County, which includes Lewistown, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mifflin County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.4 million a year, the 46th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.2 million (82%), 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 Lewistown
- Reedsville, PA6 mi
- Belleville, PA8 mi
- Port Royal, PA10 mi
- Mifflintown, PA11 mi
- Mc Veytown, PA14 mi
- Mc Clure, PA15 mi
- Spring Mills, PA16 mi
- Boalsburg, PA17 mi
- Centre Hall, PA17 mi
- Mc Alisterville, PA18 mi
- Thompsontown, PA18 mi
- Loysville, PA18 mi
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