Monroe County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 526 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #792 nationally and #29 in Pennsylvania.
526
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$29.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Monroe County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Monroe County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 7.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 156 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 493 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Monroe County, Pennsylvania record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $16.2M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Monroe County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 312 | 0 | $645K | 74 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 63 | 0 | $8.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 53 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1956–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 36 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Lightning | 30 | 2 | $233K | 0 | 1998–2022 |
| Tornado | 14 | 0 | $4.0M | F3 | 1952–2018 |
| Flood | 13 | 2 | $16.2M | 0 | 2006–2015 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Monroe County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-03-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-29 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-10-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-09-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-10-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-09-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-11-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-06-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Monroe County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 2006 | Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $16.0M |
| Aug 2, 2002 | Lightning | SHOEMAKERS | 1 | 6 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 2008 | Lightning | TOBYHANNA | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | KRESGEVILLE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2009 | Tornado | BOSSARDSVILLE | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Nov 8, 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | EASTERN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2012 | Lightning | LONG POND | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2005 | Lightning | POCONO SUMMIT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck a group of swimmers and killed a 17-year-old male in the water at Gouldsboro State Park in Coolbaugh Township. The 17-year-old male and a 24-year-old male were in the water when lightning struck. Two juvenile female companions were along the shore and were knocked to the ground. The ladies were treated at the scene. The 24-year-old male suffered non life threatening injuries, but was briefly hospitalized.
The macroburst wind damage from the severe thunderstorm peaked in Smithfield Township. The worst damage was centered around Worthington Street and Minisink Road near River Road in the Shawnee on Delaware area of the township. Even century old locusts trees were knocked down. One home was seriously damaged by a downed tree as were three vehicles on the property. River Road was closed through the night between the entrance to the Shawnee Inn and Hollow Road due to downed trees and debris. Elsewhere in the township, another downed tree became embedded with a house on Redwood Lane and three trees fell across Roosevelt Street. The combination of lightning and damaging winds caused about 30,000 Pennsylvania Power and Light and Metropolitan Edison customers to lose power. Hardest outage hit townships were Jackson, Stroud, Stroudsburg and Tobyhanna.
A series of thunderstorms with very heavy rain caused flash flooding in central Monroe County that lasted into the overnight of the 30th. Hardest hit were Chestnuthill and Pocono Townships. The Monroe County Office of Emergency Management urged motorists to stay off the road. In Chestnuthill Township, the Pohopoco Creek flooded near Camp Jaycee. Merwinesburg Road was closed from Pennsylvania State Route 115 to Jonas Road. Ziegler Road was also closed near Jonas Road. In Pocono Township, southbound Pennsylvania State Route 611 along the Pocono Creek and near the intersection with Pennsylvania State Route 715 in Tannersville was flooded. There were mud slides in the area also. Farther south along the same creek, Warner Road (a partial wash-out) and Pennsylvania State Route 611 were also closed because of flooding. In Polk Township, Dotters Corner Road (near Dotters Creek) near Pennsylvania State Route 534 was flooded and closed. Event precipitation totals included 4.63 inches in Pocono Pines, 3.84 inches in Pocono Summit, 2.78 inches in Saylorsburg and 2.71 inches in McMichaels.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
167,515
Population (ACS)
$268K
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 |
| Jan 10, 2013 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | 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 Monroe County, Pennsylvania?
526 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $29.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Monroe County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 312 recorded events — 59.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Monroe County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Monroe County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Monroe County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Monroe County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Monroe County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 85 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Monroe 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
- Mifflin County 197
- Montgomery County 1,119
- Mercer County 808
- Montour County 113
- McKean County 348
- Northampton County 700
Cite this page
“Monroe County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/monroe-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.