NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sayre, 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
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sayre, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was David in 1979. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 32
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Sayre
The strongest storm to pass near Sayre was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 65 miles. The record near Sayre begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was David in 1979, a tropical storm 32 miles away. The 1870s and the 1970s were the busiest decades, with 2 systems each. None of the 11 systems has come since 2000. Sayre has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 20 miles. Of the 32, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 28, 2019. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sayre. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 51 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 52% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sayre.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sayre
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 65 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 67 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sayre: 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 Sayre
By decade
- 2010s13
- 2000s5
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3(2 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s2
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 62 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 1 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 4 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 13, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF2 | 16 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 1954 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF1 | 9 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2016 | EF1 | 18 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 2, 2014 | EF1 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 2012 | EF1 | 6 mi | 13.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 2012 | EF1 | 13 mi | 8.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sayre
The Storm Prediction Center has 51 hail reports within 10 miles of Sayre since 1975, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on September 6, 2012. The most recent report is from July 13, 2023. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sayre
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waverly, NY, 1 mile north of Sayre at 845 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 16°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 36.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 58% of the year's precipitation (21.2 of 36.7 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal October there has highs of 62°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. That 36.7 inches is more than at 2 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (1%). Gillett, 14 miles west, has its own station (Elmira, NY): 38.1 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 16 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Feb | 37 | 17 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 3.4 | 8 |
| May | 71 | 45 | 3.1 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 54 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 58 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Nov | 50 | 30 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 39 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Year | 60 | 37 | 36.7 | 76 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waverly, NY (845 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 Sayre
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 158 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sayre: 101 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 flash floods, 12 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $49.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 26, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 17 of 43. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 493 have had fewer than Sayre.
June 2, 2000: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Sayre — 1 injured.
NWS: “Fire and rescue personnel reported 1 inch diameter hail in Waverly. Also, thunderstorm winds knocked a tree onto a car on Route 407, slightly injuring the driver and trapping her in the vehicle for 30 minutes.”
September 7, 2011: flood 4 miles from the centre of Sayre — $16.0 million damage.
September 7, 2011: flood 3 miles from the centre of Sayre — $15.3 million damage.
NWS: “Record flooding occurred along the Susquehanna River near Sayre and Athens, PA between September 7th and September 12th, 2011. 67 feet at 4:15 PM on September 8th as determined by a USGS high water mark survey.”
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 Sayre's ZIP code 18840 have filed 93 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011: 19 claims (20% of all) and $1.5 million. 37% 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, 362 have fewer than Sayre.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 19 | $1.5 million |
Bradford County, which includes Sayre, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 7 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bradford County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.2 million a year, the 30th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.3 million (88%), 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 Sayre
- Athens, PA3 mi
- Waverly, NY3 mi
- Barton, NY8 mi
- Nichols, NY9 mi
- Rome, PA13 mi
- Gillett, PA14 mi
- Columbia Cross Roads, PA15 mi
- Erin, NY15 mi
- Towanda, PA16 mi
- Elmira, NY16 mi
- Owego, NY17 mi
- Spencer, NY17 mi
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