Carbon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 338 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,566 nationally and #46 in Pennsylvania.
338
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
34
Direct injuries
$3.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Carbon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Carbon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 111 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 303 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Carbon County, Pennsylvania record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $2.1M 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 Carbon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 185 | 0 | $11K | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 44 | 0 | $1.1M | 3 | 1966–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 41 | 1 | $2.1M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 29 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Lightning | 18 | 1 | $60K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2017 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $103K | F2 | 1978–2018 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2011 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Carbon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981-04-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-10-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-23 | EF0 | 0 | 1 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-08-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Carbon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2016 | Lightning | STEMLERSVILLE | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 18, 2004 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 27, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAKE HARMONY | 0 | 19 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2005 | Lightning | JIM THORPE | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2005 | Lightning | ALBRIGHTSVILLE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2004 | Heavy Rain | HICKORY RUN | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 23, 2011 | Tornado | WEISSPORT | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| Aug 15, 2002 | Lightning | JIM THORPE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Moth ball to tennis ball (2.5 inch diameter) hail fell across central and southeast Carbon County and caused considerable damage. In Nesquehoning, golf ball size hail covered the parking lot and damaged the vehicles of emergency responders at the 911 center. Hail as large as tennis balls fell in Franklin Township, as large as hen eggs around Palmerton, as large as quarters in Lehighton and as large as moth balls fell in Jim Thorpe. Hail also fell in Weatherly. Hail damage included broken home and vehicle windows, dented siding and broken skylights.
An EF-0 tornado touched down in Franklin Township, badly damaged one home and caused minor damage to about a dozen others, a church and a baseball field. The tornado touched down to the rear of a few homes on Church Street and moved through Penn Street before lifting. On Church Street, a trampoline was blown thirty feet and trees were knocked down on one property. A neighboring trampoline was tossed into the sign of Saint Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church. The church also suffered additional wind damage. The worst tornado damage occurred as it crossed Penn Street. A recently renovated home had its roof torn away. The dry walls fell onto a woman. A tree also fell on top of the house. A metal shed was also twisted, aluminum window awnings were mangled and a swing set was toppled. Numerous trees were either snapped or uprooted along the tornado's path. The estimated maximum winds were 75 mph. The estimated path length was about 0.4 miles and path width about 50 yards.
Thunderstorms with torrential downpours caused flash flooding of smaller streams as well as extensive poor drainage flooding in Lansford and Summit Hill Boroughs and the northwest part of Mahoning Township. Roadways were closed and many basements were flooded. In Summit Hill, Pennsylvania State Route 902 was shut down for two and a half hours because of debris and rocks pushed onto the roadway. A portion of Oak Street was also closed. Firefighters responded to thirty-six calls of flooded basements. The annual Stay At Home Festival never opened because volunteers had to rebuild the stands and the field was swamped by flood waters. In Lansford, there was four feet of water on U.S. Route 209 and one motorist had to be rescued. Other roadways in the borough were damaged by flooding as asphalt was washed away. A storm total measurement of 7.40 inches was measured in Lansford.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
65,382
Population (ACS)
$211K
Median home value
18
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 8, 2011 | Flood | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM |
| Jun 30, 2006 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Carbon County, Pennsylvania?
338 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $3.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Carbon County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 185 recorded events — 54.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Carbon County?
4 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Carbon County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Carbon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Carbon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carbon County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Carbon 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
- Cameron County 98
- Centre County 565
- Cambria County 473
- Chester County 1,281
- Butler County 903
- Clarion County 452
Cite this page
“Carbon County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/carbon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.