NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vandergrift, 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
9 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 9
- Tornadoes
- 62
- 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 Vandergrift
None of the 9 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Vandergrift; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 44 miles away. The record near Vandergrift begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm directly overhead. Of the 9 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 79% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Vandergrift. The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 3, 1980; its path passed within a mile of the city centre. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1985, killed 9 people. Of the 62, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on March 16, 2025. Vandergrift has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Vandergrift has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Vandergrift
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | overhead | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1989 | HugoSep 22 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Vandergrift: 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 Vandergrift
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s5
- 2000s4
- 1990s13
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 3, 1980 | F4 | in town | 11.8 mi | 0 / 140 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 11 mi | 39 mi | 9 / 120 |
| Jul 11, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 11.8 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Jun 26, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 10.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 8.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 23, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 8.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 15, 1997 | F2 | 23 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 22, 1983 | F2 | 15 mi | 38 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 1981 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 8 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vandergrift
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Vandergrift since 1974, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 38 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on April 9, 2001. The most recent report is from May 4, 2025. June has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vandergrift
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salina 3 W, PA, 7 miles south of Vandergrift at 1,109 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 20°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 45.8 inches over 97 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 45.8 inches is more than at 88 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (59%). Leechburg, 3 miles northwest, has its own station (Ford City 4 S Dam, PA): 44.4 inches a year, 1.4 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 20 | 3.5 | 9 | 7.1 |
| Feb | 39 | 21 | 2.8 | 7 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 3.5 | 8 | 5.5 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 3.7 | 9 | 0.3 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 4.2 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 41 | 26 | 3.4 | 8 | 5.7 |
| Year | 61 | 40 | 45.8 | 97 | 28.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salina 3 W, PA (1,109 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 Vandergrift
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 297 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vandergrift: 225 thunderstorm wind reports, 49 flash floods, 18 floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on March 16, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 17 of 49. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 525 have had fewer than Vandergrift.
July 16, 2021: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Vandergrift — 1 injured.
October 6, 2024: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Vandergrift — $2.5 million damage.
May 11, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Vandergrift — $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 Vandergrift's ZIP code 15690 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $158,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 11% 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, 99 have fewer than Vandergrift.
Armstrong County, which includes Vandergrift, 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 Vandergrift
- Leechburg, PA3 mi
- Apollo, PA4 mi
- Avonmore, PA7 mi
- Freeport, PA8 mi
- Natrona Heights, PA8 mi
- Brackenridge, PA9 mi
- New Kensington, PA10 mi
- Ford City, PA10 mi
- Saltsburg, PA10 mi
- Tarentum, PA11 mi
- Sarver, PA11 mi
- Springdale, PA12 mi
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