Columbia County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 319 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 69.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,669 nationally and #50 in Pennsylvania.
319
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$17.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Columbia County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Columbia County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 5.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 300 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $15.5M in reported property damage. In total, 5 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Columbia County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 222 | 0 | $697K | 87 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 49 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1980–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $865K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $640K | F2 | 1964–2019 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $15.5M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
Decade by decade
Columbia County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-04-17 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-10-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-03-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Columbia County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROARING CREEK | 0 | 4 | $6K |
| Jul 15, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | BENTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | GRASSMERE | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Nov 21, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Apr 17, 1982 | 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
Heavy rain during the morning hours caused significant flash flooding along Fishing Creek. Little Fishing Creek actually changed its natural course, and the flash flood waters surged into downtown Benton. A dyke system failed, leading to several residences having moderate to major flooding. Many people were evacuated to Red Cross Shelters. A disaster declaration was announced for the Benton area with initial damages estimates approaching one million dollars.
A tornado touched down in Bloomsburg and flattened the E-Z Storage Facility. The tornado also partially blew the roofs off of six houses, flipped over or damaged four trailers, tore off the front porch of a house, damaged two barns and threw a 14 foot boat into an apple tree. One house was damaged severely enough to make it uninhabitable. No injuries were reported. Elsewhere in Columbia County, trees were uprooted in Montour. A microburst uprooted numerous trees and damaged several trailers in Benton and Maple Grove. A large number of trees were also uprooted in Rohrsburg.
The tornado touched down near Bennett Road just Northeast of Jerseytown around 1655 LST, then moved East-Northeast just north of Welliversville before lifing off over Orange Township about 1705 LST. The path of the tornado was about 6 miles in length, while the width varied up to 300 yards. The top wind speeds were estimated to be near 100 mph, which rates this tornado as an F1. There were no deaths or injuries.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
65,362
Population (ACS)
$206K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 12, 2011 | Flood | TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR |
| Sep 8, 2011 | Flood | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Columbia County, Pennsylvania?
319 events are on record between 1964 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $17.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Columbia County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 222 recorded events — 69.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Columbia County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Columbia County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Columbia County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Columbia County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Columbia County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 62 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Columbia 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
- Clinton County 350
- Crawford County 784
- Clearfield County 487
- Cumberland County 429
- Clarion County 452
- Dauphin County 553
Cite this page
“Columbia County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/columbia-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.