NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Towanda, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Towanda, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was David in 1979. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Towanda
The strongest storm to pass near Towanda was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 81 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The record near Towanda begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was David in 1979, a tropical storm 19 miles away. None of the 12 systems has come since 2000. Towanda has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 2, 1998, came within 23 miles. Of the 42, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2019. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Towanda. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1971, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Towanda.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Towanda
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 65 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 56 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Towanda: 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 Towanda
By decade
- 2010s12
- 2000s4
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s1
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1998 | F3 | 23 mi | 26 mi | 2 / 15 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 2, 1983 | F3 | 19 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 13, 2018 | EF2 | 9 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2014 | EF2 | 15 mi | 6.68 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1988 | F2 | 24 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 1974 | F2 | 17 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 1954 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 1954 | F2 | 19 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF1 | 7 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF1 | 16 mi | 10.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2016 | EF1 | 3 mi | 0.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Towanda
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Towanda since 1971, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently August 12, 2017. The most recent report is from July 30, 2020. June has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Towanda
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Towanda 1 S, PA, in Towanda at 760 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 17°F. July is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.7 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (21.7 of 38.7 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); a normal October there has highs of 63°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 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.7 inches is more than at 8 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (5%). New Albany, 12 miles south, has its own station (Dushore, PA): 43.5 inches a year, 4.8 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 17 | 2.4 | 6 | 11.0 |
| Feb | 38 | 18 | 1.9 | 4 | 7.1 |
| Mar | 46 | 25 | 3.1 | 6 | 8.8 |
| Apr | 60 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.5 |
| May | 71 | 46 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 55 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 59 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 58 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 40 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 40 | 24 | 2.7 | 5 | 7.4 |
| Year | 60 | 38 | 38.7 | 76 | 37.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Towanda 1 S, PA (760 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 Towanda
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 145 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Towanda: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 flash floods, 9 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $17.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 28, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 39. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 475 have had fewer than Towanda.
September 7, 2011: flood in Towanda — 1 killed, $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Major flooding occurred along the Susquehanna River near Towanda, PA. 52 feet on September 8, 2011 at 10:45 AM.”
July 24, 2022: thunderstorm wind in Towanda — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down a tree and a pedestrian sustained injuries from the falling tree.”
July 26, 2015: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Towanda — $3.0 million 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 Towanda's ZIP code 18848 have filed 79 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011: 31 claims (39% of all) and $1.2 million, then Flooding in 1996 with 11. 62% 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, 341 have fewer than Towanda.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 31 | $1.2 million |
| Flooding1996 | 11 | $76,000 |
Bradford County, which includes Towanda, 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 Towanda
- Wyalusing, PA10 mi
- New Albany, PA12 mi
- Athens, PA13 mi
- Rome, PA13 mi
- Sayre, PA16 mi
- Laceyville, PA17 mi
- Columbia Cross Roads, PA18 mi
- Troy, PA18 mi
- Waverly, NY19 mi
- Nichols, NY19 mi
- Canton, PA21 mi
- Barton, NY21 mi
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