Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Windber, PA

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Johnstown Cambria Co Airport, PA, 6 miles north of Windber at 2,284 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 19°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.2 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (22.8 of 41.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs of 90°F are rare: fewer than one day a year on average. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. That 41.2 inches is more than at 23 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (16%). Central City, 9 miles south, has its own station (Shawnee Sp, PA): 39.9 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 79°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 212 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Windber: 192 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods and 6 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $420,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 21, 2020. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 14. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 247 have had fewer than Windber.

Flood insurance policyholders in Windber's ZIP code 15963 have filed 73 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $207,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1996: 17 claims (23% of all) and $92,000. 27% 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, 325 have fewer than Windber.