Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania

1992 tornadoes in Pennsylvania

31 tornadoes touched down in Pennsylvania in 1992, 137 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1991 1993 The whole country in 1992

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Pennsylvania in 1992

January 14 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 149:41 AM ESTF1Lackawanna0.233$5,000 to $50,000
January 1411:24 AM ESTF1Bucks1.523

April 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 244:30 PM EDTF1Bedford1.030$5,000 to $50,000

June 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 1912:20 PM EDTF0Franklin0.610$5,000 to $50,000

July 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 52:15 PM EDTF1Bradford8.0100$500 to $5,000

July 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 1211:45 PM EDTF0Lawrence0.3100$50 to $500

July 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 139:10 PM EDTF0Allegheny0.550$500 to $5,000

July 15 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 152:00 PM EDTF1Columbia0.110
July 152:20 PM EDTF1Clinton1.073$5,000 to $50,000
July 154:07 PM EDTF2Schuylkill1.5502$500,000 to $5 million
July 155:00 PM EDTF1Northampton1.530$500 to $5,000
July 156:00 PM EDTF1Delaware0.7100$50,000 to $500,000
July 156:10 PM EDTF0Northampton0.213

July 17 8 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 174:44 PM EDTF1Snyder4.5734$50,000 to $500,000
July 175:12 PM EDTF1Dauphin0.730$50,000 to $500,000
July 175:34 PM EDTF1Lebanon1.023$5,000 to $50,000
July 175:45 PM EDTF0Montour0.520
July 176:04 PM EDTF0Berks0.120$500 to $5,000
July 176:10 PM EDTF2Lebanon1.030$50,000 to $500,000
July 176:30 PM EDTF1Lebanon0.530$50,000 to $500,000
July 177:30 PM EDTF2Chester4.0100$50,000 to $500,000

July 20 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 206:02 PM EDTF0Armstrong0.520

July 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 2410:00 PM EDTF1Westmoreland1.550$5,000 to $50,000

July 31 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 312:47 PM CDTF1Mercer to NJ4.530$50,000 to $500,000

August 8 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 86:08 PM EDTF2Lawrence1.510011$50,000 to $500,000
August 86:20 PM EDTF2Lawrence2.0150$5,000 to $50,000

August 28 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 287:10 PM EDTF1Lebanon1.0150$50,000 to $500,000
August 287:20 PM EDTF2Chester2.01003$50,000 to $500,000
August 287:50 PM EDTF1Berks2.017$50,000 to $500,000

September 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 217:00 PM EDTF0Mercer4.020$5,000 to $50,000

October 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 96:04 PM EDTF2York2.0100$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

Every tornado in Pennsylvania since 1950Warnings in force in PennsylvaniaThe 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.