Clarion County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 452 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,056 nationally and #35 in Pennsylvania.
452
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$77.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Clarion County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clarion County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 165 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 409 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clarion County, Pennsylvania record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $75.3M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clarion County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 293 | 0 | $1.3M | 71 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 68 | 0 | $10K | 2.5 | 1983–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 49 | 1 | $75.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 1 | $696K | F2 | 1954–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 15 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $46K | 0 | 2007–2019 |
Decade by decade
Clarion County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-23 | EF1 | 1 | 24 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-10-04 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-05-01 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clarion County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 1978 | Tornado | 1 | 24 | $250K | |
| Jul 19, 1996 | Flash Flood | SHIPPENVILLE | 1 | 1 | $75.0M |
| Oct 4, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
About 502 PM EDT, a wind gust, estimated 60 mph (52 kt), damaged part of a barn roof, felled 25 large trees, and forced a dome barn off its foundation. A 15-year old boy looked out his back door and saw a "white funnel". Nearby, on Route 322, roof of a water company pump house was destroyed. Wind also flipped over a mobile home, and blew down trees, which brought down power lines.
Multiple areas experienced flooded due to back building storm. Richey Run broke from its banks and flooded Route 208, Route 338 was closed between Ritts Station Road to Blairs Corners Road, and roadways near the county line was affected.
An F0 tornado with an estimated maximum wind of 70 MPH blew through Cook Forest State Park. This tornado had a total path length of 2 miles and a width of 150 yards. Approximately 60 to 70 trees were downed by this tornado, with one falling onto a parked pickup truck. A roof was also blown off of an outbuilding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
37,179
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRANCES | DR |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Hurricane | TROPICAL DEPRESSION IVAN | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clarion County, Pennsylvania?
452 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $77.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clarion County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 293 recorded events — 64.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clarion County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clarion County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clarion County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clarion County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clarion County as very low risk, placing it in the 30 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clarion 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
- Chester County 1,281
- Clearfield County 487
- Centre County 565
- Clinton County 350
- Carbon County 338
- Columbia County 319
Cite this page
“Clarion County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/clarion-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.