NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Williamsburg, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 25
- 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 Williamsburg
The strongest storm to pass near Williamsburg was Hazel in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 47 miles away. The record near Williamsburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 16 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems. Of the 14 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Williamsburg. The highest rating among the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 19, 1996, came within 19 miles. Of the 25, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Williamsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 14 times since 1985, with stones up to 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size). Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 93% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Williamsburg.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Williamsburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 47 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Williamsburg: 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 Williamsburg
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s5
- 1990s9
- 1980s7
- 1970s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 19 mi | 27.4 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Nov 20, 1989 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1980 | F2 | 18 mi | 7.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 14 mi | 0.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2018 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2014 | EF1 | 23 mi | 10.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2011 | EF1 | 13 mi | 2.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2011 | EF1 | 13 mi | 3.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2011 | EF1 | 18 mi | 2.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1998 | F1 | 22 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F1 | 15 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Williamsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 14 hail reports within 10 miles of Williamsburg since 1985, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 12 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.5 inches (ping pong ball size), fell on June 3, 2023, the most recent report.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Williamsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Raystown Lake 2, PA, 9 miles southeast of Williamsburg at 1,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 40.7 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (21.3 of 40.7 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 40.7 inches is more than at 16 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (11%). Hollidaysburg, 8 miles west, has its own station (Altoona 7 SW, PA): 41.8 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 21 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Feb | 40 | 22 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Apr | 62 | 40 | 3.7 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Oct | 64 | 44 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Nov | 52 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Dec | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 40.7 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Raystown Lake 2, PA (1,000 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 Williamsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 114 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Williamsburg: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods and 8 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $692,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on March 16, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 135 have had fewer than Williamsburg.
May 28, 2009: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Williamsburg — $250,000 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 Williamsburg's ZIP code 16693 have filed 98 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 32 claims (33% of all) and $250,000, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 27. The year with the most claims was 2004, with 33. 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, 373 have fewer than Williamsburg.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 32 | $250,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 27 | $457,000 |
Blair County, which includes Williamsburg, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 snowstorms, 3 hurricanes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Blair County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.9 million a year, the 29th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.3 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 Williamsburg
- Hollidaysburg, PA8 mi
- Alexandria, PA9 mi
- Altoona, PA10 mi
- Martinsburg, PA12 mi
- Bellwood, PA12 mi
- Duncansville, PA12 mi
- Huntingdon, PA12 mi
- Roaring Spring, PA13 mi
- East Freedom, PA14 mi
- Tyrone, PA15 mi
- Saxton, PA16 mi
- Gallitzin, PA18 mi
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