New Castle

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 Lawrence County, the county that contains New Castle.

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 Lawrence County, the county that contains New Castle.

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 Lawrence County, the county that contains New Castle.

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 Lawrence 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. Jul 9, 2023Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of rain fell in southwest Lawrence over a 3 hour period. At least eight homes were impacted by flooding in Wayne and Shenango Townships. Numerous roads were closed in the area and several water rescues from houses and cars were performed by local firefighters. The most significant damage in Shenango Township occurred around Union Valley, Snake Run, and Lower Boyd School Roads, the latter of which was undermined, creating damage to the asphalt. Roads impacted in Wayne Township included Shenango Stop, Union Valley, Snake Run, Chewton-West Pittsburg, Fletcher Hill, Boyd School, Lower Boyd School, Old Pittsburgh, and Union Valley Roads. McKee Run was reported to…

2. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Lawrence$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure from the remains of Hurricane Ike moved across central Ohio to Lake Erie on the evening of September 14th and produced very strong winds into the early morning of September 15th across eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania. Widespread damage to trees and power lines was reported across the region with power outages and damage to some structures from falling trees. Power was not restored to some rural areas for one week after the storm. At the peak of the storm more than 2 million homes were without power. For a period of about 8 hours, sustained winds during the storm were from 30 to 50 MPH, with gusts well over 60 MPH. The highest reported…

3. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Lawrence$265,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 236 PM EDT on 17th, numerous roads were flooded in Pulaski and Shenango townships. By 845 PM, Ellwood City had 3.5 inches of rain. As of 6 PM on 18th, many roads were still flooded, and there were a few mud slides, including one on Vanguard Rd in Perry Twp. Part of Mohawk School Rd washed out. (IVAN)

4. Jul 28, 1999Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm rains procuded street and basement flooding across the county. Several vehicles became stranded in flooded roadways. In New Castle, several businesses reported up to a foot of water in their stores, ruining carpeting and inventory. An assisted-living center in Neshannock Township reported several inches of water through their first floor. No residents were injured. In addition, many homes across the area reported basement flooding.

5. Jul 28, 1999Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moving across the county dumped over 3 inches of rainfall, producing widespread flash flooding across the county. Numerous reports of basement flooding were reported. In New Castle, the water roared down one street with such force it lifted the blacktop off of the road. Many motorists were trapped inside their vehicles in flooded intersections, with one vanload of children trapped on a New Castle street. Despite the widespread flooding, no injuries were reported.

6. Jul 28, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A microburst occurred across the New Wilmington area. Winds estimated to just over 100 MPH occurred along a narrow and sporadic path from about 2 miles west of New Wilmington at the intersection of Routes 18 and 208 to 2.5 miles south of New Wilmington on Route 956. One business, the Farmer's Cheese factory, had a large portion of the roof blown off. One home had the roof completely blown off, and several cars were crushed by falling trees.

7. Jul 10, 2013Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS storm survey confirmed a EF1 tornado just west of the town of Moravia in Lawrence county. The tornado started in a field where it was captured on camera and video by persons traveling on State Route 168. It then crossed State Route 168 and destroyed 2 barns. A gravity wagon was flipped over in a nearby field. The tornado then moved across a soybean field onto Halltown Road snapping and uprooting several trees. The tornado then dissipated. Maximum winds were estimated at 90 MPH, with a path length of just over one mile. The maximum path width was around 250 yards.

8. Feb 12, 2009High Wind, Lawrence$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful cold front moved across the Ohio Valley on the evening of the 11th as strong low pressure moved north across the Great Lakes. A convective line along the cold front produced widespread damage across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland with thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 70 MPH and a peak wind gust of 92 MPH at Allegheny County Airport near Pittsburgh. High winds gusting to 60 MPH behind the front in a strong pressure gradient produced wind damage across the entire region into midday on the 12th. In all across eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia and Garrett county Maryland over one half million…

9. Nov 15, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread tree and power line damage was reported across the county.

10. Jul 17, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Emergency management reportred numerous trees down throughout New Wilmington TWP with a tree reported down on a house in town of New Wilmington.

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°FJul 10, 1936

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

81°FAug 17, 1938

Coldest day

−6°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

4.65 inJul 21, 2003

Snowiest day

17.2 inJan 24, 1948

Hottest year

2024mean 53.4°F

Coldest year

1980mean 46.2°F

Wettest year

201154.01 in

Driest year

196323.79 in

Snowiest season

118.7 in2010-11

Station Youngstown-warren Regional Airport (USW00014852), 1,167 ft elevation, 24.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1934 to October 27, 2026; 99.9% 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 Lawrence 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 USW00014852.
• 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.