Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pottsville, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mahanoy City 2 N, PA, 11 miles north of Pottsville at 1,710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 18°F. July and September are the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 53.7 inches over 96 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (29.2 of 53.7 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 20 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal August there has highs of 78°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 139 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.7 inches is more than at 145 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (98%). Schuylkill Haven, 5 miles south, has its own station (Hamburg, PA): 49.6 inches a year, 4.1 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 80°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 115 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pottsville: 102 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $336,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on May 23, 2011. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 166 have had fewer than Pottsville.

Flood insurance policyholders in Pottsville's ZIP code 17901 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2003, and were paid $1.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 11. 26% 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, 136 have fewer than Pottsville.