Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania

1994 tornadoes in Pennsylvania

27 tornadoes touched down in Pennsylvania in 1994, 106 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 3 people and injured 39.

1993 1995 The whole country in 1994

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 1994

April 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 135:30 PM EDTF1Chester0.117$5,000 to $50,000

April 16 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 167:45 AM EDTF1Monroe0.510$5,000 to $50,000
April 168:30 AM EDTF1Delaware0.333$50,000 to $500,000

April 30 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 309:00 PM EDTF1Franklin0.553$5,000 to $50,000
April 309:10 PM EDTF2Franklin6.0532$50,000 to $500,000
April 3010:00 PM EDTF1Dauphin0.560$50,000 to $500,000

June 6 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 61:26 PM EDTF1Snyder2.050$500,000 to $5 million
June 63:05 PM EDTF1Lebanon4.0100
June 63:10 PM EDTF1Berks0.460$50,000 to $500,000
June 610:47 PM EDTF1Bucks0.233$5,000 to $50,000

June 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 114:00 PM EDTF1Crawford6.01501$50,000 to $500,000

June 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 124:10 PM EDTF0Lycoming2.0200$5,000 to $50,000

June 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 271:45 PM EDTF1Columbia0.273$50,000 to $500,000

July 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 54:10 PM EDTF1Westmoreland1.050$50,000 to $500,000

July 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 218:04 PM EDTF0York1.0220$5,000 to $50,000

July 27 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 2710:55 PM EDTF3Chester4.010011$500,000 to $5 million
July 2711:30 PM EDTF1Chester3.5100$50,000 to $500,000
July 2711:52 PM EDTF3Montgomery2.0100325$5 million to $50 million

July 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 298:35 PM EDTF1Butler3.083$50,000 to $500,000

August 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 134:40 PM EDTF0Chester0.5100
August 135:00 PM EDTF1Chester0.3100

August 14 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 142:10 PM EDTF1Montgomery1.0100
August 143:30 PM EDTF0Susquehanna0.110

August 28 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 284:40 PM EDTF1Forest2.583

September 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 255:22 PM EDTF0Erie0.130

September 26 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 266:55 PM EDTF2Cambria3.5300$5,000 to $50,000
September 268:20 PM EDTF1Cameron4.0100

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.