Northumberland County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 331 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 72.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,599 nationally and #49 in Pennsylvania.
331
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$27.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Northumberland County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 103 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 297 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Northumberland County, Pennsylvania record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $25.4M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Northumberland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 241 | 0 | $873K | 78 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 38 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1963–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 27 | 0 | $80K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 14 | 2 | $25.4M | F3 | 1953–2017 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $605K | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2015 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Northumberland 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: 11 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-05-31 | EF3 | 6 | 60 | 19.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-08-28 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-09-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-09-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-09-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Northumberland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 1985 | Tornado | 2 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 19, 2003 | Lightning | ELYSBURG | 0 | 6 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An EF1 tornado was confirmed south of Riverside…with multiple trees down and damage to a small barn and a home. A shed was destroyed and a car was damaged by flying debris. Maximum estimated winds were 100 mph, classifying this as an EF1 tornado.
Three structures sustained damage and several large trees were downed. The first building affected was a barn. A section of the roof was ripped off and deposited on the downwind side. Part of the roof to the house on the property was peeled back. The next damage occurrence was about 300 yards down the road. A flat roof was completely lifted off a house. Some bricks from the second floor of the house were deposited on the lawn. A garage behind the house had half of the second floor almost totally ripped off the structure – with the other half almost untouched. A scattering of debris from the house and garage were found all over the yard and up to a few hundred yards downwind. Pieces of the debris, including insulation, were hung up in a few trees on the property.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding just north of Watsontown in Delaware Township along Route 405. A trailer park was inundated by up to six feet of water with at least ten trailers flooded. One resident was temporarily evacuated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
90,560
Population (ACS)
$162K
Median home value
19
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 12, 2011 | Flood | TROPICAL STORM LEE | DR |
| Sep 8, 2011 | Flood | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM |
| Jun 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania?
331 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $27.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Northumberland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 241 recorded events — 72.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Northumberland County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Northumberland County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Northumberland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Northumberland County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Northumberland County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Northumberland 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
- Northampton County 700
- Perry County 287
- Montour County 113
- Philadelphia County 643
- Montgomery County 1,119
- Pike County 219
Cite this page
“Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/northumberland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.