NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pen Argyl, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 23
- Tornadoes
- 48
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Pen Argyl
The strongest storm to pass near Pen Argyl was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1878, whose centre came within 28 miles. The record near Pen Argyl begins with an unnamed storm in 1863; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 62 miles away. Of the 25 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Pen Argyl has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 26, 1981, came within 14 miles. Of the 48, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pen Argyl. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1980, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pen Argyl.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pen Argyl
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 72 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 28 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Pen Argyl: 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 Pen Argyl
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s5
- 2000s3
- 1990s9
- 1980s11(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 1981 | F3 | 14 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Mar 21, 1976 | F3 | 9 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2009 | EF2 | 5 mi | 4.58 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 8, 1996 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 26, 1981 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1981 | F2 | 6 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 29, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 5, 1979 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 1974 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 13, 1972 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1950 | F2 | 18 mi | 12.9 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 6, 2025 | EF1 | 3 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pen Argyl
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Pen Argyl since 1980, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently June 7, 1992. The most recent report is from April 21, 2021. July has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pen Argyl
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Belvidere Brg, NJ, 9 miles east of Pen Argyl at 263 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 18°F. July and October are the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 48.3 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (26.6 of 48.3 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 25 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal August there has highs of 83°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. Snowfall averages 23.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.3 inches is more than at 116 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (78%). Saylorsburg, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (E Stroudsburg, PA): 53.4 inches a year, 5.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 18 | 3.2 | 6 | 9.9 |
| Feb | 40 | 19 | 2.7 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Mar | 48 | 26 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.5 |
| Apr | 61 | 36 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 71 | 46 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 61 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 52 | 30 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 4.1 | 7 | 4.0 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 48.3 | 82 | 23.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Belvidere Brg, NJ (263 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 Pen Argyl
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 312 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pen Argyl: 235 thunderstorm wind reports, 45 flash floods, 13 lightning strikes, 12 heavy rain events and 7 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $29.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 21, 2021. July has had the most flash floods, 15 of 45. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 508 have had fewer than Pen Argyl.
November 8, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Pen Argyl — 2 injured.
July 19, 2011: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Pen Argyl — 2 injured.
September 1, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Pen Argyl — $25.0 million damage.
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
Northampton County, which includes Pen Argyl, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Northampton County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $90.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $63.0 million (70%), 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 Pen Argyl
- Wind Gap, PA3 mi
- Bangor, PA4 mi
- Saylorsburg, PA6 mi
- Mount Bethel, PA8 mi
- Nazareth, PA8 mi
- Stroudsburg, PA9 mi
- Brodheadsville, PA9 mi
- Bath, PA11 mi
- Belvidere, NJ11 mi
- Columbia, NJ11 mi
- Easton, PA12 mi
- Phillipsburg, NJ12 mi
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