NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Slippery Rock, 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 Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 65 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 65
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
29 deaths in all
What the records show for Slippery Rock
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Slippery Rock; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 64 miles away. The record near Slippery Rock begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 7 miles away. 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 Slippery Rock. The strongest of the 65 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 18 people. Of the 65, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2025. Slippery Rock has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Slippery Rock has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Slippery Rock
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 31 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 6 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Slippery Rock: 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 Slippery Rock
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s10
- 2000s10
- 1990s12
- 1980s9(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F5 | 16 mi | 47 mi | 18 / 310 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 19 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F2 | 25 mi | 7 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Apr 9, 2001 | F2 | 25 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1992 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 1992 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Oct 3, 1986 | F2 | 6 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1985 | F2 | 18 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 20, 1981 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1977 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1964 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 10, 1954 | F2 | 13 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
The strongest 12 of 65, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Slippery Rock
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Slippery Rock since 1974, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 14, 2024. The most recent report is from October 6, 2024. April has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Slippery Rock
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Slippery Rock 1 SSW, PA, in Slippery Rock at 1,260 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 45.3 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 (24.5 of 45.3 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 74°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. That 45.3 inches is more than at 84 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (57%). Volant, 10 miles west, has its own station (New Castle 1 N, PA): 42.0 inches a year, 3.3 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 17 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Feb | 37 | 18 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Mar | 46 | 25 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 59 | 35 | 3.9 | 9 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 4.1 | 9 |
| Jun | 77 | 54 | 4.8 | 9 |
| Jul | 81 | 58 | 4.6 | 9 |
| Aug | 80 | 56 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Oct | 62 | 39 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 3.5 | 8 |
| Dec | 38 | 23 | 3.2 | 8 |
| Year | 59 | 38 | 45.3 | 96 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Slippery Rock 1 SSW, PA (1,260 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 Slippery Rock
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 164 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Slippery Rock: 146 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 7 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $11.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 14, 2026. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 188 have had fewer than Slippery Rock.
June 12, 2015: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Slippery Rock — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Slippery Rock — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
July 20, 2023: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Slippery Rock — 1 injured, $5,000 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 Slippery Rock's ZIP code 16057 have filed 84 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 10 claims (12% of all) and $120,000. The year with the most claims was 2004, with 30. 23% 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, 347 have fewer than Slippery Rock.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 10 | $120,000 |
Butler County, which includes Slippery Rock, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Butler County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.7 million a year, the 20th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $41.3 million (87%), 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 Slippery Rock
- Portersville, PA8 mi
- Grove City, PA9 mi
- Harrisville, PA9 mi
- West Sunbury, PA9 mi
- Volant, PA10 mi
- Prospect, PA10 mi
- New Castle, PA15 mi
- Butler, PA15 mi
- New Wilmington, PA16 mi
- Mercer, PA16 mi
- Harmony, PA16 mi
- Renfrew, PA17 mi
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