Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania

Tornadoes in Butler County, Pennsylvania

33 tornadoes have crossed Butler County since 1950, 5 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 5th of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.3 years. They have killed 9 people and injured 122. None was rated F4 or 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
33
Deaths
9
Injuries
122
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 31, 1985

The deadliest in Butler County

  1. F3, Beaver and Butler counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 19859 killed, 120 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Beaver and Butler counties, PennsylvaniaMay 31, 1985F3, 39.0 mi (63 km)
  2. F2, Butler County, PennsylvaniaJune 1, 1954F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  3. F2, Butler County, PennsylvaniaApril 28, 1981F2, 0.5 mi (1 km)
  4. F2, Butler County, PennsylvaniaJuly 20, 1981F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Butler County. Each year links to every tornado in Pennsylvania that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20265EF1
20252EF0
20212EF1
20191EF1
20173EF0
20161EF0
20152EF0
20081EF0
20021F1
20011F0
19941F1
19911F0
19904F1
198519120F3
19812F2
197822F1
19761F0
19701F1
19541F2

Every tornado that crossed Butler County

33 tornadoes, newest first. The 5 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 14, 20265:35 PM EDTEF1Butler3.3150
June 14, 20265:39 PM EDTEF1Butler2.5175
June 14, 20265:43 PM EDTEF0Butler2.6150
July 21, 20267:55 PM EDTEF0Butler0.250
July 21, 20268:01 PM EDTEF0Butler0.230
May 21, 20254:40 PM EDTEF0Butler0.2210$5,000
May 21, 20254:37 PM EDTEF0Butler0.4160$50,000
October 21, 20217:33 PM EDTEF0Butler8.7300
October 21, 20217:11 PM EDTEF1Beaver3.2110
June 16, 20196:18 PM EDTEF1Butler1.5400
July 10, 20173:57 PM EDTEF0Beaver3.275$30,000
May 1, 20172:56 PM EDTEF0Butler0.450$5,000
May 1, 20172:30 PM EDTEF0Butler2.950$20,000
August 25, 20169:43 PM EDTEF0Butler2.1350$5,000
August 10, 20159:45 PM EDTEF0Butler0.660$25,000
June 27, 20155:06 PM EDTEF0Butler1.850$5,000
July 22, 20088:45 PM EDTEF0Butler0.125
April 28, 20023:01 PM EDTF1Butler7.050$200,000
April 9, 20013:30 PM EDTF0Butler4.050$50,000
July 29, 19948:35 PM EDTF1Butler3.083$50,000 to $500,000
July 23, 19911:30 PM EDTF0Butler0.113$50 to $500
September 6, 19905:10 PM EDTF1Butler0.140
July 22, 19907:15 PM EDTF0Butler0.210
July 22, 19906:03 PM EDTF0Butler3.510
July 22, 19905:45 PM EDTF0Butler0.510
May 31, 19858:10 PM EDTF3Beaver39.02439120$5 million to $50 million
July 20, 19812:00 PM EDTF2Butler0.110$50,000 to $500,000
April 28, 19815:07 PM EDTF2Butler0.510$5,000 to $50,000
June 27, 19784:30 PM EDTF1Butler0.1101$50,000 to $500,000
June 16, 197811:20 PM EDTF1Butler0.1101$50,000 to $500,000
July 23, 19763:30 PM EDTF0Butler0.110
August 30, 19705:15 PM EDTF1Butler1.5300$50,000 to $500,000
June 1, 19547:30 PM GMT-4F2Butler3.0150$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Butler CountyThe forecast for Butler CountyThe live radar over Butler CountyEvery county in 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.