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Bradford County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 620 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #537 nationally and #22 in Pennsylvania.
620
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$125.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Bradford County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bradford County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 8.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 221 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 575 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Bradford County, Pennsylvania record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $88.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bradford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 327 | 0 | $2.4M | 78 | 1969–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 159 | 0 | $88.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 83 | 0 | $88K | 2 | 1971–2022 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $2.2M | F2 | 1951–2019 |
| Flood | 15 | 1 | $31.4M | 0 | 2006–2020 |
| Lightning | 12 | 2 | $128K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Heavy Snow | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Bradford County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-09-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-07-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-02-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bradford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2020 | Lightning | BAILEY CORNERS | 2 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2011 | Flood | TOWANDA | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Jun 17, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 14 | $0 | |
| Aug 16, 2003 | Lightning | WEST BURLINGTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 24, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | NORTH TOWANDA | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Jun 10, 2008 | Lightning | TROY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 21, 1996 | Lightning | EAST ATHENS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning from a nearby thunderstorm struck four individuals under a tree stand in the area of 447 Tube Drive in Granville Township. Two of these people were killed and the other two were injured. They were holding a metal latter at the time they were struck.
Heavy rain with amounts of 3 to 7 inches fell from the 16th to the 18th. The rain was due to remnants from hurricane Ivan. All creeks and streams went out of their banks causing major problems. Early on the 18th more than half of the roads in the county were closed, prompting a state of emergency to be issued. River flooding also occurred along the entire length of the Susquehanna River. 50 homes, 5 businesses, and dozens of roads and bridges were damaged. At least 20 water rescues occurred.
Record flooding occurred along the Susquehanna River near Sayre and Athens, PA between September 7th and September 12th, 2011. The river crested at 26.67 feet at 4:15 PM on September 8th as determined by a USGS high water mark survey.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
59,858
Population (ACS)
$188K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 27, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 12, 2011 | Flood | TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bradford County, Pennsylvania?
620 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $125.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bradford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 327 recorded events — 52.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bradford County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bradford County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bradford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bradford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bradford County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bradford County, Pennsylvania severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Blair County 304
- Bucks County 911
- Berks County 1,349
- Butler County 903
- Bedford County 267
- Cambria County 473
Cite this page
“Bradford County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/bradford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.