Butler County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Butler County: 6.
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.

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 PA (Pomeroy, 1974) (7), USGS Conterminous (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. May 29, 2019Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reports that Indian Brave Campground is underwater.

2. May 28, 2019Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local citizens reported severe flooding near Main Street in Zelienople as well as basement flooding.

3. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Butler$5.0 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…

4. Sep 17, 2004Flood, Butler$3.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 245 PM EDT on 17th, flooding began in Sarver. At 315 PM, Butler reported 3" of rain. At 445 PM, flooding occurred in Butler. State of emergency declared 5 PM EDT 17th. By 6 PM, 4.3" of rain in Penn Twp. Harmony and Jackson townships hardest hit. Part of Monroe Rd in Buffalo Twp washed out. Total of 588 structures damaged or destroyed. Record flooding along Connoquenessing Creek. Zelienople crested at 18.17 ft (previous record 16.66) Total rain: 6.1" at Butler Jr High School, 5.4" in Sarvar. (IVAN)

5. Aug 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A shortwave trough over the Great Lakes interacting with a quasi-stationary boundary over eastern Ohio and western PA spawned severe weather from mid afternoon through late evening. MLCAPE near 2000 J/kg along with a relatively strong, elongated shear profiles led to an environment for strong to severe winds and possible tornadoes.

6. Aug 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and wires were reported down by county officials.

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

   A tree fell on a house along with power lines along Mahood Road.

8. Oct 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong southwesterly wind ahead of an approaching front eventually advected sufficient moisture and warm air in the lower levels to overcome a capping inversion ahead of a cold front that would eventually be the main driver of forcing to take advantage of a supportive environment. Damaging wind was the primary threat, although the shear and lapse rates aloft pointed towards a limited potential for large hail as well. Tornadoes looked possible, however, LCLs were relatively high, and any issued TORs did not verify.

9. Oct 6, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were multiple reports of trees and powerlines down at the intersection of South Benbrook Road and Sawmill Lane.

10. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$1.3 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Extensive damage occurred along the Connoquenessing Creek in Jackson Township in and around Harmony and Zelienople. Over 130 homes sustained damage. Several small streams went out of their banks throughout the rest of the county, however, there was little other damage.

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 16, 1988

All-time low

−22°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 2010

Coldest day

−3°F2 times, most recently Jan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.95 inSep 17, 2004

Snowiest day

23.6 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 56.4°F

Coldest year

1976mean 48.0°F

Wettest year

201857.83 in

Driest year

196326.79 in

Snowiest season

82.0 in1950-51

Station Pittsburgh Asos (USW00094823), 1,119 ft elevation, 26.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 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.

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 USW00094823.
• 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.