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Washington County, Pennsylvania severe weather history spans 1,017 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #137 nationally and #6 in Pennsylvania.
1,017
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$19.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Washington County, Pennsylvania severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Washington County, Pennsylvania severe weather history averages 15.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 348 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 55 events fall before 1990 and 962 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Washington County, Pennsylvania record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $9.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Washington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 633 | 0 | $4.6M | 80 | 1961–2026 |
| Hail | 154 | 0 | $46K | 3 | 1970–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 143 | 1 | $5.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 52 | 0 | $877K | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $9.2M | F2 | 1973–2025 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2021 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
Washington County, Pennsylvania severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-08-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-10-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Washington County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 19, 1997 | Flash Flood | GINGER HILL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 11, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| May 13, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | TENMILE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2011 | Lightning | CANONSBURG | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | SOUTH STRABANE | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Jun 16, 1998 | Lightning | CANONSBURG | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 1997 | Lightning | WASHINGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 1987 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy thunderstorm rains led to a small creek leading to Little Mingo Creek to go out of its banks and flood Beagle Club Road. Water collected around a nearby horse barn. A 40 year-old man died when he was swept into a 24 inch wide sewer pipe that he was trying to clear in the flooded horse barn.
Thunderstorms produced up to 2.5 inches of rain in only a few hours, which fell onto ground that was already soaked from previous rainfall. This torrential rainfall forced the already-swollen Maple Creek out of its banks, producing significant flooding across the far eastern sections of Washington County. The flooding was the worst residents had seen in recent years, with the most of the damage found in a two-mile stretch from Charleroi, running west along Maple Creek Road and into Fallowfield Township. Some scattered reports of flooding on the outskirts of nearby California were also received by emergency management officials. The hardest hit areas were reportedly along Twilight Hollow Road and Lincoln Avenue Extension (Old Route 71). Overall, a total of 40 homes, 10 businesses and several roads and bridges suffered approximately $3 million in damages.
1.25 inches of rain in less than an hour from thunderstorms passing over the area produced flash flooding that flooded 25 basements, washed out a bridge and damaged several roads in the West Brownsville, Deemston and California areas.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
210,042
Population (ACS)
$229K
Median home value
14
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 10, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA | EM |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL DEPRESSION FRANCES | DR |
| Sep 19, 2004 | Hurricane | TROPICAL DEPRESSION IVAN | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Washington County, Pennsylvania?
1,017 events are on record between 1961 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $19.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Washington County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 633 recorded events — 62.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Washington County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Washington County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Washington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Washington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 83 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Washington 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
- Warren County 403
- Wayne County 308
- Venango County 598
- Westmoreland County 1,707
- Union County 185
- Wyoming County 205
Cite this page
“Washington County, Pennsylvania.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/pennsylvania/washington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.