NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spring Mills, 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
13 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Spring Mills, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 30 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 30
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Spring Mills
The strongest storm to pass near Spring Mills was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near Spring Mills begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 13 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Spring Mills. The highest rating among the 30 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 7 times; the most recent, on April 19, 2019, came within 17 miles. Of the 30, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on July 2, 2023. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Spring Mills. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 13 times since 1995, with stones up to 1 inch (quarter size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Spring Mills.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Spring Mills
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 7 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Spring Mills: 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 Spring Mills
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s7
- 2000s5
- 1990s9
- 1980s2
- 1970s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 17 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2011 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1991 | F2 | 14 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Nov 20, 1989 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 1980 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1975 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1952 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.62 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 2017 | EF1 | 20 mi | 5.53 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2017 | EF1 | 10 mi | 1.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 27, 2013 | EF1 | 9 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 30, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spring Mills
The Storm Prediction Center has 13 hail reports within 10 miles of Spring Mills since 1995, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1 inch (quarter size), was reported on 5 days, most recently June 9, 2025. The most recent report is from June 9, 2025. June has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spring Mills
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Millheim, PA, 6 miles northeast of Spring Mills at 1,120 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 15°F. September is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 42.4 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (23.1 of 42.4 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal October there has highs of 62°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.4 inches is more than at 43 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (29%). Centre Hall, 6 miles west, has its own station (State College, PA): 41.7 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 15 | 3.0 | 6 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 37 | 17 | 2.3 | 6 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 46 | 25 | 3.3 | 7 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 60 | 35 | 3.6 | 8 | 1.0 |
| May | 71 | 45 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 55 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 58 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 56 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 38 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 48 | 29 | 3.1 | 6 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 38 | 22 | 3.2 | 6 | 6.1 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 42.4 | 82 | 35.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Millheim, PA (1,120 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 Spring Mills
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 108 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spring Mills: 104 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on July 11, 2021.
June 27, 2013: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Spring Mills — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “Torrential rains produced flash flooding in the Centre region from Pine Grove Mills and State College through Bellefonte and Milesburg. The hardest hit area was from Milesburg northeast along Route 150 to the Blanchard/Beech Creek Area near the Centre/Clinton county line.”
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 Spring Mills's ZIP code 16875 have filed 21 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $105,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 71% 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, 125 have fewer than Spring Mills.
Centre County, which includes Spring Mills, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Centre 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 hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.9 million a year, the 35th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.4 million (78%), 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 Spring Mills
- Centre Hall, PA6 mi
- Reedsville, PA11 mi
- Boalsburg, PA12 mi
- Bellefonte, PA12 mi
- Howard, PA14 mi
- Mc Clure, PA14 mi
- University Park, PA15 mi
- State College, PA16 mi
- Lewistown, PA16 mi
- Julian, PA18 mi
- Belleville, PA18 mi
- Mill Hall, PA19 mi
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