Armstrong County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Armstrong County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

Mapped by USGS Conterminous (2).

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. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Armstrong$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   By 4 PM EDT on 17th, a courthouse was threatened by a mud slide in Kittanning; and numerous roads were flooded countywide, including Rte 66 between Ford City and Leechburg. By 11 PM, Bradys Bend had 5.7 inches of rain; and Red Bank Creek, on the border of Armstrong and Clarion counties, continued to flood. St Charles on the Red Bank Creek crested around 17.9 ft around dawn (flood stage 17). On the Clarion River, Cooksburg rose above flood stage (13 ft) at 2 AM EDT on 18th, crested 16.5 at 8 AM on 18th, and fell below flood stage 8 PM EDT 18th.The Allegheny River rose above flood stage 4 AM EDT 18th, and fell below flood stage by 9 PM EDT on 19th. Here are city, flood stage, crest,…

2. Jan 19, 1996Flood, Armstrong$3.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of what eventually became numerous large ice jams were reported by ice observers on the Allegheny River and its tributaries by December 26th. This abnormally early ice development continued to build as frigid temperatures persisted. Early on the morning of the 19th, the river level at Lock 9, Rimer, Pennsylvania, quickly rose 9 feet. The water was from an upstream ice jam that had broken. Ice and flood waters from its tributaries continued and led to moderate to major flooding along the Allegheny River to Pittsburgh. Property damages for Clarion County include flooding on the Clarion River. Damages for Allegheny are totaled under the flood description for the Monongahela River.

3. Oct 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nine trees were uprooted, but there was no structure damage.

4. Jun 25, 2006Flash Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding of roads and 200 basements. 12 families were evacuated. Flooded started in South Buffalo Twp around noon, then moved into Ford City and Kittanning. Between 7 AM EDT and 1130 AM, 4.2 inches of rain fell in Kittanning. It reached 5 inches by 4 PM EDT. By 215 PM EDT, flooding was reported in Ford City and 2 miles south of Kittanning. By 413 PM EDT, flooding was widespread.By 723 PM EDT, Glade Run overflowed and flooded Skinall Rd near the Villa Restaurant on SR 1285. By 935 PM EDT, several roads were still flooded in Ford City and Kittanning. Skywarn spotter in Kittanning reported total rainfall in the storm was 5.9 inches. Manor Twp Fire Dept reported some…

5. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Armstrong$500,000
   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…

6. Jun 2, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A microburst with winds estimated to around 100 MPH blew a 3-mile long swath across the Elderton area. One house was completely destroyed, with one person receiving minor injuries. Four other homes suffered structural damage, and another ten homes in the area received minor damage. Two cars were also damaged. Most of the affected homes were in the area off Route 210 just northeast of Elderton, near the Keystone Dam. A few homes on the outskirts of Atwood also reported minor damage. Numerous trees in the area were blown down, either uprooted or snapped off.

7. Jul 19, 1996Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flash flooding occurred along the Red Bank creek in South Bethlehem. Throughout the county, 1 home was destroyed, 10 had major damage and 171 minor damage. Some roads were also damaged.

8. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm spawning two separate tornadoes passed over southern Armstrong County, continuing eastward into Indiana County. The first tornado, an F0, touched down at approximately 2:45 PM EST just south of the town of Spring Church in Armstrong County. It traveled east about 3 miles before crossing into Indiana County approximately 1 mile east of Maysville at 2:52 PM EST. This tornado continued traveling to the east for another mile, finally dissipating near the community of Iselin at around 2:55 PM EST. The maximum estimated winds with this tornado were about 70 MPH.Damage from this first tornado included numerous trees which were toppled or snapped. A small steeple was toppled, and…

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

   Widespread tree and power line damage was reported across Armstrong County.

10. Feb 21, 2026Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Ice jam flooding occurred along the Allegheny River from Lock 9 to Lock 8. This impacted a campground on the right descending bank and also camps and homes on the left descending bank.

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

104°FJul 23, 2011

All-time low

−29°F2 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Warmest night

76°F2 times, most recently May 20, 1996

Coldest day

−7°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.00 inSep 18, 2004

Snowiest day

17.0 inDec 10, 1992

Hottest year

1998mean 54.4°F

Coldest year

1963mean 47.1°F

Wettest year

201864.14 in

Driest year

200124.97 in

Snowiest season

76.5 in1959-60

Station Ford City 4 S Dam (USC00362942), 930 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1943 to October 21, 2026; 95.9% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00362942.
• 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.