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Franklin County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 465 recorded events between 1963 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 65.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,002 nationally and #34 in Pennsylvania.
465
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$3.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 7.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 139 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 419 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.4M 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 Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 305 | 0 | $1.4M | 87 | 1963–2026 |
| Hail | 87 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1965–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 44 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $818K | F2 | 1974–2022 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2010 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-07-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 1994 | Tornado | Pond Bank | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Jul 21, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | WOODSTOCK | 0 | 1 | $90K |
| Jul 21, 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | SCOTLAND | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Jun 6, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chambersburg | 0 | 1 | $500 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-2 tornado near near St. Thomas in Franklin County Pennsylvania on April 19, 2019.||The initial and most intense (EF-2) damage occurred at C & R Produce just north of U.S. Route 30. Several power poles were snapped. There was also significant damage to commercial buildings on the C & R property. The tornado damage continued north-northeast along Apple Way with numerous uprooted/snapped trees including nearby orchards. Several residential homes and commercial buildings/garages were also damaged near Summerswood Drive. Maximum winds were estimated at 125 mph.
A severe thunderstorm microburst produced straight line wind damage in Fayetteville, PA. Approximately 100 trees were downed by strong winds along a path approximately 700 yards long and 100 yards wide. Most of this damage occurred in a forested area alongside the road between 1640 and 1350 Woodstock Rd. In addition to this concentrated swath of damage, peripheral wind damage was scattered between Fayetteville and Chambersburg, including several isolated instances of trees down and damage to roofs of buildings. Wind in this area was estimated at 70-80 mph. A roof was ripped off a warehouse building on the 1600 block of Lincoln Highway. Another roof was partially removed from a building on the 1700 block of Lincoln Highway. A roof was partially removed from a barn and a shed was destroyed on the 2500 block of Grant Point Rd. One person was injured when a tree fell onto a person in Chambersburg. We thank the Civil Air Patrol for providing aerial imagery that was used in this damage analysis.
Heavy rain produced flash flooding just south of Chambersburg along Interstate 81 between mile markers 10 and 13. The northbound lane at the Lighthouse Road overpass was covered by four inches of water. Eight residents were displaced due to flooding in Chambersburg Borough along Falling Spring Road. A partial foundation collapse occurred to a home on Country Road in Guilford Township. Nearly five inches of rainfall was reported in Scotland between 330 and 600 pm EDT.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
157,379
Population (ACS)
$250K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 23, 2016 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jan 10, 2013 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Sep 8, 2011 | Flood | REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM LEE | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Pennsylvania?
465 events are on record between 1963 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 305 recorded events — 65.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 76 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Forest County 166
- Fulton County 131
- Fayette County 767
- Greene County 357
- Erie County 711
- Huntingdon County 333
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.