Tornadoes · United States · Pennsylvania

Tornadoes in Fayette County, Pennsylvania

24 tornadoes have crossed Fayette County since 1950, 4 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 13th of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.2 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 20. 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
24
Deaths
0
Injuries
20
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF2, August 25, 2023

The strongest

  1. F2, Fayette County, PennsylvaniaJuly 13, 1971F2, 16.0 mi (26 km)
  2. F2, Fayette, Preston and Garrett counties, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and MarylandJune 2, 1998F2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  3. F2, Fayette County, PennsylvaniaOctober 1, 1986F2, 4.5 mi (7 km)
  4. EF2, Fayette County, PennsylvaniaAugust 25, 2023EF2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  5. F2, Fayette and Westmoreland counties, PennsylvaniaNovember 16, 1965F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 17 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Fayette County. Each year links to every tornado in Pennsylvania that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20264EF1
20252EF1
20242EF1
202326EF2
20211EF1
20181EF1
20161EF0
20081EF0
19982F2
199312F1
19911F1
198612F2
19801F0
197114F2
196516F2
19621F1
19541F0

Every tornado that crossed Fayette County

24 tornadoes, newest first. The 4 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 6, 20262:50 PM EDTEF1Fayette0.475
June 6, 20262:57 PM EDTEF1Fayette5.1100
June 6, 20263:00 PM EDTEF1Fayette5.2400
June 22, 20265:14 PM EDTEF1Fayette1.2140
March 16, 20251:05 PM EDTEF1Fayette7.775
March 16, 202512:44 PM EDTEF1Fayette1.675
May 11, 20246:48 PM CDTEF1Fayette to WV1.2200$350,000
May 11, 20247:06 PM EDTEF0Fayette0.520$10,000
August 25, 20232:34 AM EDTEF2Fayette2.03006$850,000
August 25, 20232:28 AM EDTEF1Fayette6.260$150,000
July 29, 20211:54 PM EDTEF1Westmoreland4.9100$275,000
February 15, 20186:43 PM ESTEF1Fayette1.7440$50,000
June 16, 20164:42 PM EDTEF0Fayette0.4200$15,000
July 30, 20084:35 PM CDTEF0Fayette to WV, MD7.9150$605,000
June 2, 19988:35 PM CDTF2Fayette to WV, MD12.0300$9.0 million
June 2, 19989:00 PM EDTF0Fayette0.350$10,000
June 8, 19936:45 PM EDTF1Fayette3.02502$50,000 to $500,000
April 9, 19919:20 PM EDTF1Fayette0.550$50,000 to $500,000
October 1, 19863:40 PM EDTF2Fayette4.51002$500,000 to $5 million
June 15, 19809:15 PM EDTF0Fayette0.110$50 to $500
July 13, 197111:45 PM EDTF2Fayette16.0704$50,000 to $500,000
November 16, 196510:15 PM GMT-5F2Fayette0.12806$50,000 to $500,000
September 10, 196210:30 PM GMT-4F1Fayette1.010$50,000 to $500,000
June 1, 19546:00 PM GMT-4F0Fayette0.110$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Fayette CountyThe forecast for Fayette CountyThe live radar over Fayette 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.