NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Monongahela, 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
8 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Monongahela, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 68 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 8
- Tornadoes
- 68
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Monongahela
None of the 8 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Monongahela; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 66 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The record near Monongahela begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 35 miles away. Of the 8 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 92% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Monongahela. The highest rating among the 68 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 11, 1976, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on August 3, 1963, killed 2 people. Of the 68, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Monongahela has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1963, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Monongahela has more hail reports within 10 miles than 67% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Monongahela's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Monongahela
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 34 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 Monongahela: 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 Monongahela
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s12
- 2000s4
- 1990s9
- 1980s6
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 1963 | F3 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 70 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F3 | 25 mi | 11.8 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 10.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF2 | 5 mi | 5.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 21, 2021 | EF2 | 16 mi | 15.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2011 | EF2 | 11 mi | 8.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1990 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1986 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 6 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F2 | 12 mi | 45.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 15, 1964 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 4 |
The strongest 12 of 68, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Monongahela
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Monongahela since 1963, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently June 18, 2024. The most recent report is from April 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Monongahela
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Donora 1 SW, PA, 4 miles southeast of Monongahela at 762 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 21°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 40.8 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 40.8 inches is more than at 18 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (12%). Finleyville, 5 miles northwest, has its own station (Pittsburgh Allegheny Co Airport, PA): 41.3 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 21 | 2.9 | 7 | 5.7 |
| Feb | 42 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.2 |
| Mar | 51 | 29 | 3.1 | 8 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 64 | 38 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| May | 73 | 49 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 61 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 42 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 54 | 33 | 2.8 | 7 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 43 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 | 3.3 |
| Year | 63 | 41 | 40.8 | 87 | 21.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Donora 1 SW, PA (762 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 Monongahela
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 444 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Monongahela: 309 thunderstorm wind reports, 94 flash floods, 36 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 25, 2023. July has had the most flash floods, 35 of 94. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 667 have had fewer than Monongahela.
June 16, 2016: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Monongahela — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
June 6, 2026: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Monongahela — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
May 5, 2009: flood in Monongahela — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Emergency management reported flooding on SR 481 in Monongahela near the Penos Plaza along Pigeon Creek. This flooding was a combination of back water flooding from the Monongahela River and run off.”
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 Monongahela's ZIP code 15063 have filed 120 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 61 claims (51% of all) and $1.1 million. 53% 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, 404 have fewer than Monongahela.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 61 | $1.1 million |
Washington County, which includes Monongahela, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $57.4 million a year, the 17th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $51.5 million (90%), 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 Monongahela
- New Eagle, PA2 mi
- Donora, PA4 mi
- Monessen, PA4 mi
- Charleroi, PA4 mi
- Finleyville, PA5 mi
- Elizabeth, PA6 mi
- Belle Vernon, PA6 mi
- Bentleyville, PA7 mi
- Jefferson Hills, PA7 mi
- South Park, PA8 mi
- Venetia, PA8 mi
- Fayette City, PA8 mi
All Pennsylvania cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Monongahela with another place →