NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Williamsport, 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 Williamsport, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was David in 1979. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 51
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Williamsport
The strongest storm to pass near Williamsport was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 29 miles. The record near Williamsport begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was David in 1979, a tropical storm 20 miles away. None of the 12 systems has come since 2000. Williamsport has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site. The strongest of the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 31, 1985; its path came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1985, killed 6 people. Of the 51, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on July 2, 2023. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities, 61% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Williamsport. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Williamsport has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
Compare Williamsport's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Williamsport
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 16 | 29 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 17 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 14 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 66 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Williamsport: 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 Williamsport
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s6
- 2000s9
- 1990s21
- 1980s5(2 EF3+)
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1985 | F4 | 16 mi | 69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1985 | F3 | 7 mi | 19 mi | 6 / 60 |
| Jul 29, 1976 | F3 | 3 mi | 25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 2, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 16, 1966 | F2 | 3 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 19 mi | 2.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 21 mi | 2.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 2023 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2022 | EF1 | 16 mi | 9.14 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 14, 2019 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2018 | EF1 | 24 mi | 2.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2015 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 51, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Williamsport
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Williamsport since 1956, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 28, 2019. The most recent report is from July 22, 2022. July has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Williamsport
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Williamsport 2, PA, 2 miles east of Williamsport at 525 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 21°F. September is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 42.7 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (23.3 of 42.7 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 64°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 118 nights a year. Snowfall averages 32.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.7 inches is more than at 49 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (33%). Montoursville, 6 miles east, has its own station (Williamsport, PA): 43.7 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 21 | 3.0 | 6 | 8.7 |
| Feb | 39 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 3.3 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 63 | 39 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 74 | 50 | 3.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 63 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 62 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 51 | 33 | 3.1 | 6 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 40 | 26 | 3.3 | 7 | 7.1 |
| Year | 62 | 42 | 42.7 | 83 | 32.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Williamsport 2, PA (525 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 Williamsport
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Williamsport: 155 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 4 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $659,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on May 1, 2017.
August 12, 2021: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Williamsport — 1 injured, $5,000 damage.
July 28, 2012: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Williamsport — $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 Williamsport's ZIP code 17701 have filed 1,186 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $19.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 467 claims (39% of all) and $7.6 million, then Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 with 205 and Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 135. 72% 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, 548 have fewer than Williamsport.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1996 | 467 | $7.6 million |
| Tropical Storm Lee2011 | 205 | $7.7 million |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 135 | $1.7 million |
| Hurricane Debby2024 | 21 | $354,000 |
| Not a named storm1979 | 17 | $14,000 |
Lycoming County, which includes Williamsport, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 5 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Debby, on September 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lycoming 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 $40.9 million a year, the 23rd highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $34.8 million (85%), 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 Williamsport
- South Williamsport, PA2 mi
- Montoursville, PA6 mi
- Cogan Station, PA6 mi
- Linden, PA7 mi
- Montgomery, PA9 mi
- Allenwood, PA10 mi
- Trout Run, PA12 mi
- Jersey Shore, PA13 mi
- Watsontown, PA14 mi
- Muncy, PA15 mi
- New Columbia, PA15 mi
- Hughesville, PA17 mi
All Pennsylvania cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Williamsport with another place →