Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit New Bethlehem, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Putneyville 2 SE Dam, PA, 7 miles southeast of New Bethlehem at 1,280 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.9 inches over 96 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (24.3 of 45.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 74°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.9 inches is more than at 89 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (60%). Rimersburg, 8 miles west, has its own station (Clarion 3 SW, PA): 46.9 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 105 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of New Bethlehem: 84 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 7 floods and 6 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $707,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on October 16, 2021. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 135 have had fewer than New Bethlehem.

Flood insurance policyholders in New Bethlehem's ZIP code 16242 have filed 109 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 38 claims (35% of all) and $1.0 million, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 35. 67% 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, 389 have fewer than New Bethlehem.