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Lebanon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 427 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 68.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,144 nationally and #38 in Pennsylvania.
427
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
33
Direct injuries
$28.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Lebanon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 146 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 48 events fall before 1990 and 379 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lebanon County, Pennsylvania record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $24.9M 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 Lebanon County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 291 | 0 | $922K | 100 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 55 | 0 | $5K | 2 | 1956–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 43 | 0 | $270K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 19 | 1 | $24.9M | F3 | 1957–2021 |
| Flood | 15 | 1 | $2.0M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2011 |
Decade by decade
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-06-18 | EF3 | 1 | 5 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-07-14 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-10-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 11 | 10.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1957-11-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lebanon County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1970 | Tornado | 1 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 7, 2011 | Flood | LAWN | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Jul 18, 2005 | Lightning | LICKDALE | 0 | 21 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Jun 15, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Dec 3, 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | HEBRON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 10, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down near Lindley Murry Road and Schoolhouse Lane in East Hanover Twonship, near the town of Ono. The tornado path length was 1.5 miles long, and the width was up to 150 yards. Top wind speeds were estimated at 90 mph, making this a category F1 tornado. Damage from this tornado included 12 homes that were damaged or destroyed, fifteen barns damaged or destroyed and dozens of large trees.
Straight line winds caused damage in Lebanon County as determined by a NWS Storm Survey Team. Wind speeds were estimated between 90 and 100 mph. Damage, which occurred between 5:45 pm and 5:50 pm local time, took place in a path 3 miles wide by 4 miles long. Most of the damage occurred in the town of Fredericksburg. Hundereds of trees were downed, and hail the size of golfballs (1.75 inch) was observed. At the Farmers Pride Airport, 2 airplane hangers were damaged and 5 aircraft were destroyed.
Heavy rains fell across lebanon County, with the hardest hit areas around the city of Lebanon and Annville. In Richland, 5.6 inches of rain were reported, including 4.85 inches that fell in the first 2 hours of the storm. Basements and roads flooded across the county. Rescue boats from Lebanon and Dauphin Counties rescued stranded motorists and residents in many areas. Especially hard hit were areas from Annville and east. Twenty-eight mobile homes were evacuated in South Annville as waters of Killinger Creek flooded the park. Long-time residents said the flooding was worse than during Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
144,186
Population (ACS)
$242K
Median home value
19
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 |
| 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 Lebanon County, Pennsylvania?
427 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $28.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lebanon County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 291 recorded events — 68.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lebanon County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lebanon County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lebanon County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lebanon County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lebanon County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 80 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lebanon 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
- Lawrence County 594
- Lehigh County 694
- Lancaster County 989
- Luzerne County 599
- Lackawanna County 444
- Lycoming County 631
Cite this page
“Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/lebanon-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.