Clearfield County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 487 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 80.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #920 nationally and #32 in Pennsylvania.
487
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$37.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Clearfield County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 6.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 143 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 454 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $25.1M 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 Clearfield County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 393 | 0 | $9.1M | 87 | 1965–2026 |
| Hail | 38 | 0 | $2K | 1.75 | 1971–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 37 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $25.1M | F4 | 1954–2009 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2010–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2014 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
Clearfield County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 touched down inside it and 3 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 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 69.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 27.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-08-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-07-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rainfall amounts between 2 and 4 inches produced extensive aerial and river flooding. Dozens of state, county and municipal roads were closed. Numerous basements were flooded. The West Branch Susquehanna at Mahaffey came out of its banks and flooded nearby areas.
Flash flooding struck western portions of Clearfield County during the early morning hours of May 21st. A number of training thunderstorms crossed the region, prompting the issuance of warnings. Minor flooding transitioned to flash flooding around 4:30 am EDT according to county emergency management officials as streams and creeks began to flood.Hard hit were the towns of Mahaffey and McGees Mills along the headwaters of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. A total of 9 persons were rescued from rising flood waters. Five homes sustained water damage, with 2 homes in Mahaffey having water into the first floor of the residence. Portions of Route 219 and Route 36 in the area were closed, with substantial damage to the road surface along Route 36 due to flooding of the south branch of Bear Run.
Heavy rains caused rapid flooding in Clearfield county, mainly in the Dubois area and Sandy Township. Over 100 homes had water in their basements, with several having basements filled and 1 to 2 feet of water on the first floor. Multiple road closures were also attributed to the flooding. Several evacuations were also ordered in Dubois.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
78,635
Population (ACS)
$137K
Median home value
17
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 1, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania?
487 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $37.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clearfield County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 393 recorded events — 80.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clearfield County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clearfield County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clearfield County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clearfield County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clearfield County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 67 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clearfield 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
- Clarion County 452
- Clinton County 350
- Chester County 1,281
- Columbia County 319
- Centre County 565
- Crawford County 784
Cite this page
“Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/clearfield-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.