Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Orwigsburg, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hamburg, PA, 8 miles southeast of Orwigsburg at 369 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (28.0 of 49.6 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 21 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal August there has highs of 83°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.6 inches is more than at 128 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (86%). Pottsville, 8 miles west, has its own station (Mahanoy City 2 N, PA): 53.7 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 85°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Orwigsburg: 120 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 7 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $331,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 23, 2011. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 166 have had fewer than Orwigsburg.

Flood insurance policyholders in Orwigsburg's ZIP code 17961 have filed 32 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $238,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2004, with 11. 13% 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, 199 have fewer than Orwigsburg.