Columbia County

Every recorded tornado

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

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 7, 2011Flood$15.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Susquehanna River at Bloomsburg crested above record/major flood stage at 32.75 feet. Widespread flooding was reported in the Bloomsburg area.||Many roads were closed due to flooding from creeks and streams especially over the southern portion of the county. In Hemlock Township, Hemlock Creek overflowed its banks. A bridge on Dahl road was closed to traffic. Mainville and Mifflinville areas were pretty much isolated due to numerous road closings. In the village of Eyers Grove near Millville, water from Fishing Creek flooded the neighborhood. Water rescues were reported in the area. In Greenwood Township, Fishing Creek was a few feet away from Route 42 and was shut…

2. Jan 25, 2010Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain during the morning hours caused significant flash flooding along Fishing Creek. Little Fishing Creek actually changed its natural course, and the flash flood waters surged into downtown Benton. A dyke system failed, leading to several residences having moderate to major flooding. Many people were evacuated to Red Cross Shelters. A disaster declaration was announced for the Benton area with initial damages estimates approaching one million dollars.

3. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near Bennett Road just Northeast of Jerseytown around 1655 LST, then moved East-Northeast just north of Welliversville before lifing off over Orange Township about 1705 LST. The path of the tornado was about 6 miles in length, while the width varied up to 300 yards. The top wind speeds were estimated to be near 100 mph, which rates this tornado as an F1. There were no deaths or injuries.

4. Aug 14, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dozens of trees were blown down from Bloomsburg to Berwick. One trailer was demolished and others damaged when trees fell in Almedia east of Bloomsburg.

5. Dec 26, 2025Winter Weather, Columbia$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain accumulations caused slick roadways in portions of Columbia County, where the eastbound lane of Interstate 80 was closed due to a multi-vehicle accident involving one tractor trailers and two passenger vehicles. One patient was transported due to injuries, with the roadway remaining closed throughout the evening hours of December 26th.

6. Aug 14, 1999Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A station wagon was crushed by a fallen tree in Mifflinville.

7. Jun 26, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 100 mph knocked down numerous trees along with damaging homes and buildings in Briar Creek Township. This included multiple damaged and destroyed barns and a garage that was heavily destroyed.

8. Jun 26, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 90 mph lifted a roof off of a gift shop and dropped it back onto the shop, completely destroying the building.

9. May 30, 2006Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from a slow moving cluster of thunderstorms caused flash flooding along a narrow portion of west-central Columbia County. Spotters reported over 3 inches of rain in 30 minutes /3.12 inches from 2130 - 2200/ while radar estimates were over 6 inches. A small tributary to Catawissa Creek flooded a car dealership in Catawissa. The waters eroded the stream bank, and swept one car (unoccupied) into the water. Several mudslides were also reported. One mudslide occurred along Route 487 southwest of Catawissa, while a second mudslide occurred on Route 42 between Catawissa and Numidia.

10. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$20,000

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 22, 2011

All-time low

−20°FJan 21, 1994

Warmest night

78°FJul 15, 1995

Coldest day

0°FJan 17, 1982

Wettest day

8.66 inJun 22, 1972

Snowiest day

20.0 inFeb 19, 1972

Hottest year

2024mean 54.3°F

Coldest year

1965mean 48.4°F

Wettest year

201170.26 in

Driest year

199730.08 in

Snowiest season

85.9 in1995-96

Station Williamsport Regional Airport (USW00014778), 524 ft elevation, 31.1 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 USW00014778.
• 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.