NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pine Grove, 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
21 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Pine Grove, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 53 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 53
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Pine Grove
The strongest storm to pass near Pine Grove was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 14 miles away. The record near Pine Grove begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 63 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1950s, with 4 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 21 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Pine Grove has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 53 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 14, 2004, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 53, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 12 each. The most recent tornado was on May 4, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pine Grove. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 24 times since 1990, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 79% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Pine Grove.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Pine Grove
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 48 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 14 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Pine Grove: 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 Pine Grove
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s11
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s12
- 1980s1
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1970 | F3 | 12 mi | 1.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jul 14, 2004 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1992 | F2 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 11, 1975 | F2 | 20 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1967 | F2 | 20 mi | 10.2 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Nov 19, 1957 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 12, 1953 | F2 | 12 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1950 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2024 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 2023 | EF1 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 53, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pine Grove
The Storm Prediction Center has 24 hail reports within 10 miles of Pine Grove since 1990, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 12 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 28, 2019. The most recent report is from August 6, 2024. June has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pine Grove
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lebanon 2 W, PA, 16 miles south of Pine Grove at 450 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 22°F. July is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 46.5 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (25.9 of 46.5 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 82°F and 4.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 120 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.5 inches is more than at 95 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (64%). Tremont, 5 miles north, has its own station (Bear Gap, PA): 48.2 inches a year, 1.7 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 | 22 | 3.1 | 6 | 6.8 |
| Feb | 40 | 23 | 2.6 | 6 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 49 | 31 | 3.6 | 7 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.4 |
| May | 72 | 51 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 63 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 44 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 52 | 34 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 3.6 | 7 | 4.0 |
| Year | 62 | 43 | 46.5 | 81 | 24.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lebanon 2 W, PA (450 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 Pine Grove
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 127 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pine Grove: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 12 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $623,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 115 mph, on June 27, 2002. September has had the most flash floods, 5 of 16. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 283 have had fewer than Pine Grove.
March 10, 2011: flood 2 miles from the centre of Pine Grove — 1 killed.
NWS: “Flooding on the Swatara Creek resulted in one fatality when a 74 year-old man drove around a flood barrier on Route 645 (Geary Wolfe Road) just south of Pine Grove and was swept away in the flood waters. A swift water rescue was attempted, but the man had already drowned in his truck.”
June 27, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Pine Grove — $250,000 damage.
August 12, 2009: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Pine Grove — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorms produced heavy rain and flash flooding in Pine Grove in southern Schuylkill County. Numerous roads were flooded and closed in the town, and the Mayor issued a disaster declaration.”
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 Pine Grove's ZIP code 17963 have filed 298 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $13.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011: 110 claims (37% of all) and $7.5 million, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 39 and Flooding in 1996 with 12. 56% 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, 499 have fewer than Pine Grove.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 110 | $7.5 million |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 39 | $2.1 million |
| Flooding1996 | 12 | $151,000 |
Schuylkill County, which includes Pine Grove, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 4 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 10, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Schuylkill County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $48.9 million a year, the 19th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.3 million (74%), 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 Pine Grove
- Tremont, PA5 mi
- Bethel, PA7 mi
- Fredericksburg, PA8 mi
- Hegins, PA9 mi
- Tower City, PA9 mi
- Schuylkill Haven, PA11 mi
- Jonestown, PA11 mi
- Minersville, PA11 mi
- Myerstown, PA12 mi
- Pottsville, PA12 mi
- Williamstown, PA13 mi
- Auburn, PA13 mi
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