NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Schuylkill Haven, 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 Schuylkill Haven, 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, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 53
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Schuylkill Haven
The strongest storm to pass near Schuylkill Haven was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 85 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near Schuylkill Haven begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 64 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. Schuylkill Haven 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 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 53, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on May 4, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Schuylkill Haven. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 21 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 84% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Schuylkill Haven.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Schuylkill Haven
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 58 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 27 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 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 7 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 Schuylkill Haven: 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 Schuylkill Haven
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s8
- 2000s3
- 1990s12(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1970 | F3 | 15 mi | 1.9 mi | 1 / 5 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 18 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Nov 4, 1950 | F3 | 20 mi | 15.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 1.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1992 | F2 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 1992 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 25 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 23 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 5, 1979 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 12, 1953 | F2 | 20 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 1.53 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 Schuylkill Haven
The Storm Prediction Center has 21 hail reports within 10 miles of Schuylkill Haven since 1970. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 22, 1979. The most recent report is from June 8, 2015. June has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Schuylkill Haven
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hamburg, PA, 12 miles east of Schuylkill Haven at 369 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (28.0 of 49.6 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 83°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.6 inches is more than at 128 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (86%). Pottsville, 5 miles north, has its own station (Mahanoy City 2 N, PA): 53.7 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 20 | 3.5 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Feb | 41 | 22 | 2.7 | 6 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 50 | 30 | 3.7 | 6 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.3 |
| May | 73 | 50 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 33 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 42 | 26 | 3.9 | 7 | 3.7 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 49.6 | 82 | 21.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hamburg, PA (369 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 Schuylkill Haven
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 116 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Schuylkill Haven: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods and 5 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $210,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 6, 2025. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 135 have had fewer than Schuylkill Haven.
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 Schuylkill Haven's ZIP code 17972 have filed 99 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 61. 12% 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, 376 have fewer than Schuylkill Haven.
Schuylkill County, which includes Schuylkill Haven, 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 Schuylkill Haven
- Auburn, PA4 mi
- Pottsville, PA5 mi
- Minersville, PA6 mi
- Orwigsburg, PA6 mi
- Saint Clair, PA7 mi
- Bethel, PA10 mi
- Pine Grove, PA11 mi
- Tremont, PA11 mi
- Bernville, PA12 mi
- Frackville, PA12 mi
- Hamburg, PA12 mi
- Mohrsville, PA13 mi
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