Bethlehem

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Northampton County, the county that contains Bethlehem.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Northampton County, the county that contains Bethlehem.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Northampton County, the county that contains Bethlehem.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Northampton County.

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Northampton$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time within seven months a greater than 50-year storm affected the Delaware River Basin and its tributaries. In all, about 5,715 homes were evacuated along the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Ed Rendell quickly declared a state of emergency and made money available to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management for flood related needs. Many homes and businesses that were flooded because of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan, were flooded again. The crests along the Delaware River were even higher than in September 2004 and were the highest crests since 1955. In many places, it was the second or third highest crest on record for the Delaware…

2. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occurred in Northampton County with many road closures. There was flooding along numerous waterways in the county, including the Lehigh River and the Monocacy Creek.

3. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occurred in Northampton County with many road closures.

4. Jun 27, 2006Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several days of heavy rain throughout the Delaware and Lehigh River Basins culminated with major flooding along the Delaware River from the 28th through the 30th. It was the fourth highest crest on record for the Delaware River along Northampton County. The worst reported damage was in Easton and Portland. The crest was slightly lower than the April 2005 flood. President George W. Bush declared Northampton County a disaster area. Sporadic periods of heavy rain started on the 23rd, but the most widespread and heaviest rain fell from the night of the 27th into the morning of the 28th. Event totals in Northampton County averaged five to nine inches, but storm totals exceeded ten…

5. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Northampton$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of snowmelt from the previous week's two storms, unseasonably warm temperatures and an additional one to two inches of rain caused the flash flooding of almost every small stream and significant roadway flooding the afternoon and early evening hours on the 19th. Major flooding of the larger streams and rivers in Pennsylvania continued through the 21st. The flooding caused three deaths, all in Montgomery County, three injuries and about $50 million dollars in property damage. All of Pennsylvania was declared a disaster area and extra public assistance was given to Northampton, Bucks and Monroe Counties, the hardest hit counties in the Southern Poconos and Southeast…

6. Mar 10, 2011Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Northampton County was affected by the one two combination of flooding along the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. Flooding along these rivers also caused smaller streams and rivers to back up and flood. The flooding also caused considerable damage along the towpaths of both the Lehigh and Delaware River Canals. In Bethlehem, flooding along the Lehigh River forced the evacuation of about 100 residents along Wilson Avenue. While homes were not affected, sections of Wilson Avenue as well as Sculac and Farmersville Roads were impassable. Evacuations also occurred along the Monocacy Creek in Bethlehem's Colonial Industrial Quarter. In Easton, dozens of people were evacuated along Bushkill…

7. Aug 25, 2007Lightning$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Frequent cloud to ground lightning associated with a small cluster of thunderstorms rolled across Northampton County during the evening of the 25th. Lightning struck the steeple of the Great Shepard Christian Fellowship Church in Plainfield Township at 9:50 PM EDT. This resulted in a fire, which caused an estimated $250,000 in damage. In addition, lightning struck a saw mill in Upper Mount Bethel Township, sparking a fire at about 10:15 PM EDT. The saw mill was destroyed, which resulted in $1 million dollars in loss.

8. Feb 12, 2009High Wind, Northampton$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong to high winds affected Eastern Pennsylvania during the day on the 12th. The strong winds started shortly after a cold frontal passage between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. EST and persisted through most of the day. Peak wind gusts averaged between 50 and 65 mph and knocked down numerous tree limbs, weak trees and power lines. Several roofs were torn away and billboards knocked down. Numerous vehicles were damaged by downed trees. Throughout the state of Pennsylvania about 250,000 homes and businesses lost power. Power was not fully restored in Eastern Pennsylvania until the 14th. In Eastern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, Berks County and the northwest Philadelphia suburbs reported…

9. Apr 23, 2007Wildfire, Northampton$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wildfire that started in the brush from discarded cigarettes, damaged several homes in Bethlehem and forced two dozen people from their home. Gusty southwest winds and warm weather made it difficult for firefighters to battle the blaze. The high temperature at the Lehigh Valley International Airport was 84 degrees and the peak wind gust was 32 mph from the southwest.

10. Sep 18, 2003High Wind, Northampton$1.1 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Tropical Storm Isabel produced strong power outage producing winds, moderate tidal flooding along the Delaware River and stream flooding in Chester County. Isabel made landfall as a hurricane near Drum Inlet, North Carolina around 100 p.m. EDT on the 18th and weakened as it tracked farther inland. At one time in its life cycle, it was a powerful Category 5 hurricane when it was north of the Leewood Islands. Winds gusted up to 60 mph in Eastern Pennsylvania and downed countless numbers of trees, tree limbs and power lines. It was the worst outage on record for PECO Energy in southeastern Pennsylvania. About 572,425 of its customers lost power. This exceeded the outages that…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

105°FJul 3, 1966

All-time low

−15°FJan 21, 1994

Warmest night

79°FJul 15, 1995

Coldest day

2°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

8.71 inOct 8, 2005

Snowiest day

30.2 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2012mean 54.6°F

Coldest year

1967mean 49.0°F

Wettest year

201171.72 in

Driest year

198029.82 in

Snowiest season

75.4 in1995-96

Station Allentown Lehigh Vly International Airport (USW00014737), 385 ft elevation, 4.5 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Northampton County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014737.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.