NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Zionsville, 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
27 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Zionsville, Pennsylvania since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 63 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 26
- Tornadoes
- 63
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Zionsville
The strongest storm to pass near Zionsville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 29 miles away. The record near Zionsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 42 miles away. Of the 27 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Of the 794 Pennsylvania cities on this site, 45% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Zionsville. The highest rating among the 63 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 27, 1994, killed 3 people. Of the 63, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on July 1, 2025. Zionsville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 66 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Zionsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 61% of the 794 Pennsylvania cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Zionsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 3 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 29 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Zionsville: 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 Zionsville
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s4
- 2000s1
- 1990s11(2 EF3+)
- 1980s15(1 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s4
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 1994 | F3 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 3 / 25 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 11 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 26, 1981 | F3 | 21 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 4, 1950 | F3 | 22 mi | 15.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 21 mi | 20.77 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Nov 8, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 1 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 4 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 10 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 1984 | F2 | 8 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 29, 1981 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 5, 1979 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 63, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Zionsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 66 hail reports within 10 miles of Zionsville since 1962, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 29, 2019. The most recent report is from August 15, 2023. May has the most reports, 32.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Zionsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rodale Rsch Ctr, PA, 12 miles northwest of Zionsville at 550 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 20°F. July is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 48.8 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (27.0 of 48.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 27 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 131 nights a year. That 48.8 inches is more than at 124 of the 148 Pennsylvania stations used on this site (84%). East Greenville, 4 miles south, has its own station (Sellersville, PA): 51.7 inches a year, 2.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 20 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Feb | 41 | 21 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Mar | 49 | 29 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Apr | 62 | 39 | 4.1 | 7 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Jul | 85 | 62 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Oct | 65 | 41 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Nov | 53 | 32 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Dec | 43 | 25 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 48.8 | 76 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rodale Rsch Ctr, PA (550 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 Zionsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 442 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Zionsville: 303 thunderstorm wind reports, 80 flash floods, 41 floods, 13 lightning strikes and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $23.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on March 5, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 28 of 80. Of the 788 Pennsylvania cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 636 have had fewer than Zionsville.
August 4, 2020: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Zionsville — 1 killed, $3,000 damage.
May 11, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Zionsville — 1 injured.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Zionsville — 1 injured.
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 Zionsville's ZIP code 18092 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1987, and were paid $193,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 69% 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, 42 have fewer than Zionsville.
Lehigh County, which includes Zionsville, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 3 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 30, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lehigh County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Relatively Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $128.3 million a year, the 8th highest of 67 Pennsylvania counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $68.0 million (53%), 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 Zionsville
- East Greenville, PA4 mi
- Macungie, PA4 mi
- Emmaus, PA5 mi
- Barto, PA6 mi
- Pennsburg, PA6 mi
- Alburtis, PA6 mi
- Red Hill, PA7 mi
- Coopersburg, PA7 mi
- Center Valley, PA8 mi
- Bechtelsville, PA8 mi
- Mertztown, PA9 mi
- Breinigsville, PA9 mi
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