NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rochester, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Rochester, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Rochester
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rochester; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1878, a tropical storm with 51 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The record near Rochester begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 18 miles away. Of the 9 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 79% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Rochester. The strongest of the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 70, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Rochester has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 149 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Rochester has more hail reports within 10 miles than 95% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Rochester's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rochester
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rochester: 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 Rochester
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s6
- 2000s6
- 1990s15
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10
- 1960s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 6 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 15.32 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 31, 1985 | F2 | 18 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jul 20, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1977 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F2 | 9 mi | 45.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 24, 1967 | F2 | 16 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 12, 1956 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1954 | F2 | 3 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF1 | 20 mi | 6.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.88 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 2024 | EF1 | 17 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rochester
The Storm Prediction Center has 149 hail reports within 10 miles of Rochester since 1956, made on 83 separate days. Of these, 62 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 26, 1956. The most recent report is from April 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rochester
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Montgomery L&D, PA, 7 miles southwest of Rochester at 690 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 21°F. July is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 40.7 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. That 40.7 inches is more than at 16 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (11%). Ambridge, 8 miles south, has its own station (Pittsburgh International Airport, PA): 39.6 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 21 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Feb | 38 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.6 | 8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 44 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 2.9 | 7 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.7 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Montgomery L&D, PA (690 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 Rochester
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 514 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rochester: 381 thunderstorm wind reports, 75 flash floods, 48 floods, 7 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $31.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on October 14, 2003. June has had the most flash floods, 19 of 75. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 616 have had fewer than Rochester.
October 14, 2003: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Rochester — 6 injured, $1.0 million damage.
March 25, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Rochester — 1 injured.
May 14, 2011: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Rochester — 1 injured.
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 Rochester's ZIP code 15074 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $55,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 30% 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, 0 have fewer than Rochester.
Beaver County, which includes Rochester, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Beaver County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $35.5 million a year, the 27th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.1 million (85%), 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.