NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shelocta, 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
10 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Shelocta, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 49
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Shelocta
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Shelocta; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Shelocta begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 7 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 2 systems. Of the 10 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Shelocta. The strongest of the 49 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 3, 1980; its path came within 10 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1985, killed 9 people. Of the 49, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on March 16, 2025. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Shelocta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Shelocta.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Shelocta
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Shelocta: 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 Shelocta
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s8
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 1980 | F4 | 10 mi | 11.8 mi | 0 / 140 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 21 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F3 | 23 mi | 11.8 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 10.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2022 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 15, 1997 | F2 | 22 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 23, 1986 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 13 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 1981 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 9 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 49, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shelocta
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Shelocta since 1985, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 4, 2025, the most recent report. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shelocta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ford City 4 S Dam, PA, 10 miles northwest of Shelocta at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 44.4 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 44.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 4.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. That 44.4 inches is more than at 73 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (49%). Indiana, 9 miles east, has its own station (Indiana 3 SE, PA): 47.8 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 17 | 3.2 | 8 |
| Feb | 39 | 18 | 2.6 | 7 |
| Mar | 48 | 26 | 3.3 | 8 |
| Apr | 62 | 35 | 3.7 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 46 | 4.0 | 9 |
| Jun | 80 | 55 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 59 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Aug | 83 | 58 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Oct | 64 | 39 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Nov | 51 | 30 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Dec | 40 | 23 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Year | 61 | 38 | 44.4 | 92 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ford City 4 S Dam, PA (930 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 Shelocta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 123 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shelocta: 103 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods and 4 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on June 2, 1999. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 16. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 283 have had fewer than Shelocta.
June 22, 2017: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Shelocta — 1 killed.
NWS: “Emergency management reported that a man drowned as he attempting to clean debris from an overflow pipe in a pond near his home on Sportsman Club Road when the kayak he was in flipped and his legs were pulled into the pipe. Water then continued to rise, submerging the individual.”
June 2, 1999: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Shelocta — 1 injured, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “A microburst with winds estimated to around 100 MPH blew a 3-mile long swath across the Elderton area. One house was completely destroyed, with one person receiving minor injuries.”
November 15, 2020: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Shelocta — $100,000 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 Shelocta's ZIP code 15774 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1996, and were paid $235,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004: 17 claims (59% of all) and $155,000. 66% 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, 186 have fewer than Shelocta.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 17 | $155,000 |
Armstrong County, which includes Shelocta, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 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 Armstrong County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $27.8 million a year, the 32nd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.7 million (93%), 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 Shelocta
- Indiana, PA9 mi
- Ford City, PA11 mi
- Avonmore, PA12 mi
- Saltsburg, PA12 mi
- Vandergrift, PA13 mi
- Homer City, PA13 mi
- Kittanning, PA14 mi
- Apollo, PA14 mi
- Leechburg, PA15 mi
- Blairsville, PA15 mi
- Dayton, PA16 mi
- Marion Center, PA17 mi
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