177
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$18.9M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Berks County, Pennsylvania: 177 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #53 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Berks County, Pennsylvania: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Berks County is the 2010s, when 76 of the county's 177 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Berks County archive, flash flood makes up 13.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #53 for this hazard and #5 within Pennsylvania, putting it in the 98.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for flash flood in Berks County with 68 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2019 | PINE FORGE | 0 | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2004 | SOUTHEAST PORTION | 0 | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Oct 19, 1996 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2025 | READING | 0 | $25K |
| Jul 31, 2025 | WEST READING | 0 | $30K |
| Jul 31, 2025 | WHITFIELD | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 31, 2025 | BERNHARTS | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2025 | BERNHARTS | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2025 | BERNHARTS | 0 | $25K |
| Jul 8, 2025 | BIRDSBORO | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2025 | BIRDSBORO | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | BERNHARTS | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | BASKET | 0 | $25K |
Other hazards here
More from Berks County
- Thunderstorm Wind 860
- Hail 141
- Lightning 49
- Flood 45
- Heavy Rain 40
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A pregnant woman and her son were trapped in a car that flipped over after being swept against a guardrail on Grist Mill Road near Locust Road along the Ironstone Creek. The two were trapped inside the vehicle, where they both perished. The rescue crew could not reach them until the water receded about 5 hours later.
Thunderstorms with very heavy rain caused roadway flooding and flash flooding of smaller streams in Albany, Greenwich, Tilden and Windsor Townships as well as Hamburg across the northern tier of Berks County. A few homes were also flooded and a mud slide was reported in Hamburg. Event precipitation totals included 4.17 inches in Hamburg.
Flash flooding occurred in Leesport and Ontelaunee Township (Berks County) around 530 pm. Sections of Pennsylvania Route 61 were closed between Bellemans Church Road and Ashley Way. One vehicle was trapped in the flood waters. Rainfall totals include 4.12 inches near Leinbachs (Berks County) and 3.35 inches at Robesonia (Berks County).
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Berks County, Pennsylvania?
177 flash flood events are recorded in Berks County between 1996 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Berks County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Berks County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Berks County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Berks County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/berks-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.