NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watsontown, 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 Watsontown, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was David in 1979. Since 1950, 63 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 63
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Watsontown
The strongest storm to pass near Watsontown was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 34 miles. The record near Watsontown begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was David in 1979, a tropical storm 7 miles away. None of the 13 systems has come since 2000. Watsontown has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The highest rating among the 63 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1985, came within 2 miles. Of the 63, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on July 2, 2023. Watsontown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1991, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 55% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Watsontown.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Watsontown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 34 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 53 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Watsontown: 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 Watsontown
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s8
- 2000s11
- 1990s24
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 2 mi | 19 mi | 6 / 60 |
| Jul 29, 1976 | F3 | 9 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 17, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 28, 1978 | F2 | 15 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 1966 | F2 | 14 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 6 mi | 2.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 14 mi | 2.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2022 | EF1 | 8 mi | 9.14 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 8, 2021 | EF1 | 25 mi | 0.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF1 | 10 mi | 1.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 63, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Watsontown
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Watsontown since 1991, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on September 7, 1998. The most recent report is from June 26, 2024. July has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Watsontown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lewisburg, PA, 10 miles south of Watsontown at 500 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 19°F. July is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 43.9 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 (23.8 of 43.9 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 134 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.9 inches is more than at 64 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (43%). Montgomery, 6 miles north, has its own station (Williamsport, PA): 43.7 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 19 | 3.1 | 6 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 38 | 20 | 2.4 | 6 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 3.5 | 7 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 62 | 37 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 3.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 57 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 52 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 41 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 3.1 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 40 | 24 | 3.4 | 7 | 5.4 |
| Year | 61 | 40 | 43.9 | 82 | 28.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lewisburg, PA (500 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 Watsontown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 151 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Watsontown: 128 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods and 10 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on April 14, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 13. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 224 have had fewer than Watsontown.
September 22, 2010: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Watsontown — 2 killed, $15,000 damage.
June 20, 2001: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Watsontown — $500,000 damage.
April 14, 2019: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Watsontown — $300,000 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 Watsontown's ZIP code 17777 have filed 83 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $580,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 16 claims (19% of all) and $135,000, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 15 and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 with 11. The year with the most claims was 2004, with 15. 51% 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, 346 have fewer than Watsontown.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 16 | $135,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 15 | $133,000 |
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 11 | $109,000 |
Northumberland County, which includes Watsontown, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 4 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 Northumberland County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; 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 $37.3 million a year, the 25th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.2 million (81%), 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 Watsontown
- New Columbia, PA5 mi
- Montgomery, PA6 mi
- Turbotville, PA6 mi
- Milton, PA6 mi
- Allenwood, PA8 mi
- Muncy, PA10 mi
- Lewisburg, PA10 mi
- Montoursville, PA12 mi
- South Williamsport, PA13 mi
- Danville, PA14 mi
- Williamsport, PA14 mi
- Northumberland, PA14 mi
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