Tornadoes in Pennsylvania
982 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 12.9 a year, 26th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 49 people and injured 1,050. 6 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Pennsylvania
- F3, Beaver and Butler counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4 Tionesta tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F3, Lycoming, Union and Northumberland counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4 Kane tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F3, Montgomery County, PennsylvaniaJuly 27, 1994
- F3, Wyoming County, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1998
- F3, Crawford County, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F3, Allegheny County, PennsylvaniaAugust 3, 1963
- EF1, Jefferson and Elk counties, PennsylvaniaOctober 16, 2021
- EF2, Montgomery County, PennsylvaniaSeptember 1, 2021
- F1, Dauphin County, PennsylvaniaDecember 1, 2006
- F2, Mercer County, PennsylvaniaNovember 10, 2002
The strongest
- F4 Moshannon State Forest tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4, Somerset, Garrett and Allegany counties, Pennsylvania and MarylandJune 2, 1998
- F4 Kane tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4 Tionesta tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4 Corry tornado, Pennsylvania and New YorkMay 31, 1985
- F4, Armstrong, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, PennsylvaniaJune 3, 1980
- F3, Beaver and Butler counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F3, Erie and Warren counties, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1971
- F3, Wyoming County, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1998
- F3, Lycoming County, PennsylvaniaJuly 29, 1976
- F3, Crawford County, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F3, Pike County, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1998
The longest paths
- F4 Moshannon State Forest tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F2, Beaver, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, PennsylvaniaJune 4, 1975
- F3, Beaver and Butler counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F2, Allegheny, Westmoreland and Indiana counties, PennsylvaniaMay 22, 1983
- F4, Somerset, Garrett and Allegany counties, Pennsylvania and MarylandJune 2, 1998
- F1, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1998
- F3, Erie and Warren counties, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1971
- F4 Kane tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F4 Tionesta tornado, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985
- F2, Jefferson County, PennsylvaniaJuly 11, 1976
- F4 Corry tornado, Pennsylvania and New YorkMay 31, 1985
- F2, Jefferson, Indiana, Clearfield and Cambria counties, PennsylvaniaJuly 19, 1996
The costliest
- F1, McKean County, PennsylvaniaJuly 21, 2003
- F3, Lebanon County, PennsylvaniaJuly 14, 2004
- F1, Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, PennsylvaniaJune 2, 1998
- F2, Fayette, Preston and Garrett counties, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and MarylandJune 2, 1998
- EF2, Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaFebruary 24, 2016
- EF2, Washington County, PennsylvaniaOctober 21, 2021
- EF1, Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaOctober 19, 2012
- F4, Somerset, Garrett and Allegany counties, Pennsylvania and MarylandJune 2, 1998
- EF2, Montgomery County, PennsylvaniaSeptember 1, 2021
- EF2, Luzerne County, PennsylvaniaJune 13, 2018
- EF1, Lancaster County, PennsylvaniaSeptember 29, 2015
- EF2, Westmoreland County, PennsylvaniaMarch 23, 2011
The biggest days in Pennsylvania
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 54 tornado tracks surveyed in Pennsylvania so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 54 | 1 | ||
| 2025 | 22 | |||
| 2024 | 23 | |||
| 2023 | 24 | 6 | ||
| 2022 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2021 | 43 | 2 | 3 | |
| 2020 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 2019 | 35 | 3 | ||
| 2018 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 2017 | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 9 | |||
| 2015 | 12 | 1 | ||
| 2014 | 9 | |||
| 2013 | 9 | 7 | ||
| 2012 | 12 | 15 | ||
| 2011 | 30 | 5 | ||
| 2010 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2009 | 7 | 5 | ||
| 2008 | 5 | |||
| 2007 | 7 | |||
| 2006 | 8 | 1 | 5 | |
| 2005 | 11 | |||
| 2004 | 26 | |||
| 2003 | 9 | |||
| 2002 | 15 | 1 | 21 | |
| 2001 | 12 | |||
| 2000 | 5 | |||
| 1999 | 9 | 30 | ||
| 1998 | 59 | 3 | 96 | 1 |
| 1997 | 14 | 1 | 3 | |
| 1996 | 25 | 8 | ||
| 1995 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1994 | 27 | 3 | 39 | |
| 1993 | 13 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 31 | 20 | ||
| 1991 | 19 | 13 | ||
| 1990 | 19 | 1 | ||
| 1989 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1988 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1987 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 1986 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1985 | 28 | 29 | 262 | 4 |
| 1984 | 8 | 14 | ||
| 1983 | 16 | 13 | ||
| 1982 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1981 | 17 | 6 | ||
| 1980 | 17 | 142 | 1 | |
| 1979 | 14 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1978 | 15 | 1 | 31 | |
| 1977 | 13 | 11 | ||
| 1976 | 23 | 2 | 26 | |
| 1975 | 15 | 2 | ||
| 1974 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 1973 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 1972 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1971 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1970 | 12 | 1 | 10 | |
| 1969 | 2 | |||
| 1968 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 1967 | 3 | 11 | ||
| 1966 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1965 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 1964 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 1963 | 4 | 2 | 90 | |
| 1962 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1961 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1960 | 3 | |||
| 1958 | 1 | |||
| 1957 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 1956 | 6 | 9 | ||
| 1955 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 1954 | 21 | 10 | ||
| 1953 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1952 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1951 | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1950 | 5 | 3 |
Every county in Pennsylvania
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 982. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in PennsylvaniaForecast for your townThe live radar over Pennsylvania
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.