Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania

2017 tornadoes in Pennsylvania

29 tornadoes touched down in Pennsylvania in 2017, 121 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

2016 2018 The whole country in 2017

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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 2017

February 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 252:35 PM ESTEF2Luzerne12.5500$300,000
February 253:15 PM ESTEF1York1.7100$200,000

April 20 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 207:47 PM EDTEF0Warren0.320$10,000

May 1 12 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 12:30 PM EDTEF0Butler2.950$20,000
May 12:56 PM EDTEF0Butler0.450$5,000
May 13:09 PM EDTEF0Clarion0.975$15,000
May 13:25 PM EDTEF0Clarion0.5100$10,000
May 13:27 PM EDTEF0Clarion0.875$10,000
May 13:27 PM EDTEF1Forest2.2100$50,000
May 13:35 PM EDTEF1Forest0.8150
May 13:39 PM EDTEF1Forest0.250
May 13:40 PM EDTEF2Forest0.9350
May 13:42 PM EDTEF2Forest1.1175
May 14:08 PM EDTEF1Elk1.7200
May 16:44 PM EDTEF1Centre1.11001$200,000

June 19 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 1912:20 PM EDTEF0Bradford1.1250$50,000
June 192:36 PM EDTEF0Berks2.150
June 195:52 PM EDTEF0Clarion0.860$15,000
June 195:52 PM EDTEF0Clarion0.860$20,000

June 23 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 233:21 PM EDTEF1Washington3.0250$60,000

July 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 103:57 PM EDTEF0Beaver3.275$30,000

July 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 116:45 PM EDTEF0Clarion1.0250$10,000

July 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 227:40 PM EDTEF0Lebanon0.125

July 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 243:57 PM EDTEF0Northumberland0.325

August 4 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 45:55 PM EDTEF1Fulton1.2200$5,000

August 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 123:12 PM EDTEF1Juniata5.5200$500,000

August 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 224:23 PM EDTEF1Greene1.5250$50,000

November 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 56:07 PM ESTEF0Erie1.9100$500,000

November 18 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 1812:11 AM ESTEF1Allegheny5.4125$50,000

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.