Harrisburg

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.

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 Dauphin County, the county that contains Harrisburg.

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 Dauphin County, the county that contains Harrisburg.

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 Dauphin County, the county that contains Harrisburg.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 7, 2011Flood$150 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Swatara Creek near Hershey crested at major flood stage, 26.8 feet. Flood stage is 7.0 feet. Swatara Creek at Middletwon crested at major flood stage, estimated at 26.30 feet. Flood stage is 11.0 feet. This is the 5th highest all time.||The Susquehanna River at Harrisburg crested in major flood stage at 25.17 feet. Flood stage is 17 feet. This is the 5th highest crest on record.||While the Susquehanna River flooded a large area of Harrisburg, some areas were fortunate enough to escape the flood waters. Midtown and Uptown residents were largely unscathed, though widespread power outages were reported. The river levels crested several feet below that of Agnes, thanks in part to less…

2. Dec 1, 2006Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A thunderstorm spawned an F1 tornado south of the town of Halifax in Dauphin county, as determined by a National Weather Service storm survey team. The tornado was embedded within a much larger area of downburst wind damage.|The tornado touched down near Route 147 about 1.3 miles south of Halifax. The tornado traveled northeast about 1.5 miles, before dissipating in a wooded area. Major damage was sustained by 4 businesses and 1 home. Moderate damage was sustained by 4 additional residences. Minor damage occurred to several dozen homes. Top winds were estimated between 100 and 110 mph, categorizing the storm as an F1.|Damages from the tornado were estimated at nearly 2 million…

3. Jun 1, 2007Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced by slow moving thunderstorms caused flash flooding in Dauphin County in Derry Township, mainly south of Hershey. There were 7 residential structures that were affected. Two homes sustained major damage, while another five sustained minor damage. Five additional reports of flooded basements were received. In addition, seven vehicle rescues were performed. A state of emergency was declared in Derry Township by local emergency management officials.

4. Dec 1, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds produced a 8 mile long swath of damage from 2.5 miles southwest of Halifax, to 6.5 miles east of Halifax. Damage began near the intersection of Shammons School Road, about 1 mile east of the Susquehanna River, and ended in a wooded area of Jackson Township, about 1.5 miles east of Enders. The thunderstorm winds produced minor damage to several dozen homes, and downed thousands of trees.|Embedded in the damaging thunderstorm winds was a short lived F1 tornado.

5. Aug 4, 2004Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms spawned an F1 tornado during the late afternoon of Wednesday August 4th in western Dauphin County. The tornado first touched down near the intersection of Walnut and Brisban streets, in Paxtang. The tornado traveled east approximately 2 miles, and lifted near the intersection of Paxton Street and US Highway 322. Peak winds were estimated at 80 to 90 mph. There were no injuries or deaths.The tornado knocked down hundreds of trees, several falling on homes and cars.

6. Jun 14, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS damage survey found that a downburst occurred in Middle Paxton Township on the evening of June 14th, 2026. Damage was observed across a 2 mile wide area and peak winds were estimated to be 100 mph. Damage was first noted just north of Route 22 along the Susquehanna River, with multiple trees uprooted and snapped along Kathryn Avenue. Two trees damaged a fence and a shed as they fell. Over 100 trees were snapped or uprooted as the storm continued to track to the northeast over the next 5 minutes. Three large trees fell onto two cars and a home on Hecks Drive. No injuries were reported as a result of the storm.

7. Sep 21, 2024Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding of portions of an apartment complex on King George Drive in Lower Paxton Township near the Colonial Park Mall resulted in persons being trapped and evacuated, and the partial collapse of a wall of one apartment building.

8. Aug 4, 2004Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms spawned a weak F1 tornado during the late afternoon of Wednesday August 4th in south central Dauphin County. The tornado first touched down in a field west of Swatara Creek about 2 miles south of Hummelstown. The tornado traveled east approximately 2 miles, and lifted near Raleigh road. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph. There were no injuries or deaths.The tornado knocked down dozens of trees, several falling on houses. Several homes were uninhabitable due to the damage.

9. May 26, 2011Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS survey team confirmed a tornado which began in eastern Perry County, and crossed the Susquehanna River into western Dauphin County. The tornado touched down north of Route 850 in Perry County, between VFW Drive and Mountaindale Drive. The tornado tracked to the northeast, lifting occasionally as it moved across eastern Perry County and eventually to the Susquehanna River. The path indicated the tornado lifted and touched down several times. Damage was limited mainly to over 100 trees, which were snapped and uprooted. Photographic evidence helped in making the tornado declaration. ||After crossing the Susquehanna River, the tornado touched down again in Dauphin Borough.…

10. Nov 5, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe thunderstorm, producing wind gusts estimated near 60 mph, knocked down multiple trees into residences in Derry Township. Multiple homes in the vicinity were evacuated due to a tree uprooting and causing a gas leak in the area.

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

103°F2 times, most recently Jul 3, 2026

All-time low

−22°FJan 21, 1994

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Jul 3, 2026

Coldest day

−1°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

7.71 inSep 7, 2011

Snowiest day

26.4 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2021mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1963mean 51.4°F

Wettest year

201173.73 in

Driest year

200125.76 in

Snowiest season

77.6 in1995-96

Station Middletown Harrisburg International Airport (USW00014711), 299 ft elevation, 8.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1941 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 Dauphin 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 USW00014711.
• 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.
• 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.