NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mount Joy, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Mount Joy
The strongest storm to pass near Mount Joy was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 87 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Mount Joy begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 36 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 24 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Mount Joy has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 14, 2004, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 89, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 4, 2025. Mount Joy has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 76 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Mount Joy has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mount Joy
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 37 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 5 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Mount Joy: 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 Mount Joy
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s15
- 2000s15(1 EF3+)
- 1990s20
- 1980s5
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s8(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1970 | F3 | 23 mi | 1.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jul 14, 2004 | F3 | 12 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1952 | F3 | 16 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 4, 1950 | F3 | 22 mi | 15.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 21 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 23 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1995 | F2 | 9 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 9, 1992 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1992 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1991 | F2 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 15, 1989 | F2 | 8 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mount Joy
The Storm Prediction Center has 76 hail reports within 10 miles of Mount Joy since 1967, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 9, 1980. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mount Joy
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Landisville 2 NW, PA, 4 miles east of Mount Joy at 360 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 19°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 45.1 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (25.2 of 45.1 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 21 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.1 inches is more than at 77 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (52%). Elizabethtown, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Middletown Harrisburg International Airport, PA): 44.2 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 19 | 3.1 | 6 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 41 | 20 | 2.4 | 5 | 6.7 |
| Mar | 50 | 28 | 3.6 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Apr | 63 | 37 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 48 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 61 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 41 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 32 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Dec | 42 | 24 | 3.3 | 7 | 3.9 |
| Year | 62 | 40 | 45.1 | 78 | 23.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Landisville 2 NW, PA (360 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 Mount Joy
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 213 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mount Joy: 155 thunderstorm wind reports, 45 flash floods and 13 floods. They killed 7 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $153.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 1, 2007. July has had the most flash floods, 26 of 45. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 508 have had fewer than Mount Joy.
September 7, 2011: flood 9 miles from the centre of Mount Joy — 4 killed, $150.7 million damage.
September 7, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Mount Joy — 2 killed, $2.0 million damage.
July 23, 2018: flood 7 miles from the centre of Mount Joy — 1 killed.
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 Mount Joy's ZIP code 17552 have filed 51 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 Tropical Storm Lee in 2011: 15 claims (29% of all) and $664,000. 41% 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, 281 have fewer than Mount Joy.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 15 | $664,000 |
Lancaster County, which includes Mount Joy, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 4 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lancaster County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $170.0 million a year, the 6th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $110.6 million (65%), 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 Mount Joy
- Marietta, PA5 mi
- Columbia, PA5 mi
- Landisville, PA5 mi
- Elizabethtown, PA6 mi
- Mountville, PA6 mi
- Manheim, PA7 mi
- Wrightsville, PA7 mi
- East Petersburg, PA8 mi
- Bainbridge, PA8 mi
- Lancaster, PA10 mi
- Mount Wolf, PA10 mi
- Millersville, PA11 mi
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