NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Petersburg, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Petersburg, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 25
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Petersburg
The strongest storm to pass near Petersburg was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Petersburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 31 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 14 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Petersburg. The highest rating among the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 19, 2019, came within 20 miles. Of the 25, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on July 2, 2023. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Petersburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1985, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 85% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Petersburg.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Petersburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 31 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Petersburg: 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 Petersburg
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s6
- 1990s9
- 1980s4
- 1970s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 20 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1991 | F2 | 8 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 20, 1989 | F2 | 8 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1975 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1952 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 25 mi | 0.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF1 | 24 mi | 5.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2013 | EF1 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2011 | EF1 | 18 mi | 2.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 8, 1996 | F1 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Petersburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Petersburg since 1985, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 23, 2019. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Petersburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is State College, PA, 13 miles northeast of Petersburg at 1,170 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 21°F. August is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.7 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (22.6 of 41.7 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 41.7 inches is more than at 30 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (20%). Alexandria, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Raystown Lake 2, PA): 40.7 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 21 | 2.9 | 7 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 37 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 11.6 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 3.4 | 7 | 9.4 |
| Apr | 59 | 39 | 3.5 | 8 | 0.9 |
| May | 69 | 50 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 59 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 63 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 54 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 43 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 49 | 34 | 3.0 | 6 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 38 | 26 | 3.2 | 7 | 7.6 |
| Year | 59 | 42 | 41.7 | 83 | 43.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at State College, PA (1,170 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 Petersburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Petersburg: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods, 4 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $477,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 14, 2010.
March 16, 2025: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Petersburg — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
July 14, 2023: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Petersburg — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down a tree onto a mobile home on Evergreen Lane near Franklinville. One injury reported.”
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 Petersburg's ZIP code 16669 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $369,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 10 claims (34% of all) and $138,000. 59% 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, 186 have fewer than Petersburg.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 10 | $138,000 |
Huntingdon County, which includes Petersburg, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Huntingdon County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.5 million a year, the 52nd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.8 million (76%), 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 Petersburg
- Alexandria, PA9 mi
- Huntingdon, PA9 mi
- Belleville, PA12 mi
- State College, PA13 mi
- Port Matilda, PA13 mi
- University Park, PA14 mi
- Boalsburg, PA14 mi
- Tyrone, PA15 mi
- Mc Veytown, PA15 mi
- Williamsburg, PA18 mi
- Mount Union, PA18 mi
- Julian, PA19 mi
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