Union County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 185 recorded events between 1967 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 68.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,532 nationally and #61 in Pennsylvania.
185
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
22
Direct injuries
$51.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Union County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Union County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 56 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 174 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Union County, Pennsylvania record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $25.3M 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 Union County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 126 | 1 | $15.6M | 70 | 1967–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 20 | 0 | $10.1M | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Hail | 15 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1991–2019 |
| Tornado | 12 | 2 | $25.3M | F3 | 1985–2023 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $830K | 0 | 2008–2023 |
Decade by decade
Union County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-05-31 | EF3 | 6 | 60 | 19.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2023-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-08-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-09-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-09-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Union County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 1, 1985 | Tornado | 2 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Nov 12, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mifflinburg | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 21, 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEIKERT | 0 | 1 | $10K |
| Jul 7, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | MIFFLINBURG | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The city of Lewisburg was especially hard hit by the remnants of Hurricane Dennis as up to 8 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, most of it during the early morning hours. Waters rose rapidly in the early morning hours. At least 160 people were displaced from their homes, many of them Bucknell University students. A total of 414 homes were affected by the flooding along with 30 county businesses. Vehicles were floated down the city side streets and 162 were damaged. The campus of Bucknell University also had damage. Other parts of the county from Mifflinburg east to the Susquehanna River had problems. Route 15, the major north/south highway to Harrisburg, was closed due to flooding.
The National Weather Service in State College PA confirmed an EF1 tornado near Buffalo Valley in East Buffalo Township in Union County Pennsylvania on April 15, 2019.||Initial straight line wind damage was surveyed at Melmar Drive, where large trees were uprooted. Straight line downburst winds accelerated down the hillside to the north of Melmar Drive causing the tornado to spin up just before reaching the Buffalo Valley United Methodist Church (the former Buffalo Cross Roads Elementary School), where trees were uprooted in a convergent pattern along the path.||The tornado continued northeast, completely destroying a barn and snapping/uprooting additional trees along Buffalo Road before ending just south of the Eastern Industries Quarry. Several homes sustained minor damage with additional barn roofs blown off. Maximum winds were estimated around 90 mph.
An F1 tornado touched down in Kelly Township, about 2 NW of Lewisburg on Colonel John Kelly Road. The tornado traveled to the southeast, remaining north of Lewisburg. It crossed Route 15 and eventually the Susquehanna River, crossing into Northumberland County. A Township building in Kelly township was destroyed, with significant damage to a township truck. 13 utility poles were snapped off, in addition to 75 to 100 trees. Winds were estimated to be around 80 mph, classifying the tornado as a weak F1. There were no injuries or deaths.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
42,456
Population (ACS)
$240K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Union County, Pennsylvania?
185 events are on record between 1967 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $51.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Union County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 126 recorded events — 68.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Union County?
12 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 Union County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Union County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Union County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Union County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 55 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Union 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
- Tioga County 338
- Venango County 598
- Warren County 403
- Susquehanna County 514
- Washington County 1,017
- Sullivan County 178
Cite this page
“Union County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/union-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.