NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Portage, 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 Portage, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 37 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 37
- 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 Portage
The strongest storm to pass near Portage was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Portage begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 3 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 14 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Portage. The highest rating among the 37 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on July 19, 1996, came within 21 miles. Of the 37, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Portage. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 15 times since 1969, with stones up to 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 92% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Portage.
Compare Portage's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Portage
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 71 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | overhead | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 36 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 Portage: 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 Portage
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s6
- 1990s15
- 1980s7
- 1970s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 8 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 21 mi | 27.4 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 26, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1980 | F2 | 15 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1956 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 30, 1953 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2023 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2018 | EF1 | 9 mi | 0.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2018 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1998 | F1 | 17 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1998 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 37, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Portage
The Storm Prediction Center has 15 hail reports within 10 miles of Portage since 1969, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.25 inches (half dollar size), fell on May 15, 2018, the most recent report. May has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Portage
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ebensburg Sewage Plt, PA, 7 miles northwest of Portage at 1,940 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 16°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 48.7 inches over 106 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (24.6 of 48.7 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 79.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 48.7 inches is more than at 123 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (83%). Sidman, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (Johnstown Cambria Co Airport, PA): 41.2 inches a year, 7.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 16 | 3.9 | 10 | 24.0 |
| Feb | 36 | 17 | 3.2 | 9 | 19.3 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 4.0 | 9 | 14.1 |
| Apr | 58 | 34 | 4.4 | 9 | 2.6 |
| May | 68 | 44 | 4.6 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 52 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 56 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 55 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 38 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 48 | 28 | 3.6 | 7 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 22 | 4.0 | 10 | 14.1 |
| Year | 57 | 36 | 48.7 | 106 | 79.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ebensburg Sewage Plt, PA (1,940 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 Portage
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 83 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Portage: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 6 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $945,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on April 29, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 8. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 135 have had fewer than Portage.
January 6, 2005: flood 6 miles from the centre of Portage — $700,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Portage's ZIP code 15946 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $74,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 13 claims (52% of all) and $50,000. 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, 155 have fewer than Portage.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 13 | $50,000 |
Cambria County, which includes Portage, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Debby, on September 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cambria County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and hail; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $31.6 million a year, the 31st highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.9 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.