Crawford County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Crawford County: 11.
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 21, 2003Flash Flood$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain began falling during the morning hours and continued into the afternoon. Rainfall rates exceeded two inches per hour during the early afternoon hours. Spotters reported 2.5 inches of rain in Saegertown between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. and 2.2 inches of rain in Titusville between 2 and 3 p.m. Total rainfall amounts through late afternoon generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches in Crawford County. Rapid rises of streams and creeks occurred as the ground was already saturated from persistent rains earlier in the month. Devastating flooding occurred in Cochranton, Titusville, Meadville and Saegertown. A bridge just outside of Cochranton on State Route 285 washed out around 2 p.m.…

2. Sep 8, 2004Flash Flood$11.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Frances caused extensive flooding in Crawford County. Light rain associated with this storm began falling early on September 8th. Rainfall rates increased during the evening hours as the low approached Northwest Pennsylvania. Rainfall totals through midnight on the 9th were as high as 4 to 5 inches, especially in southern Crawford County. The heavy rain continued through early morning hours and finally ended around daybreak after another two to four inches of rain had fallen. Storm total rainfall amounts included: around 4.0 inches at Conneaut Lake; 4.20 inches at Titusville; 5.07 inches at the Meadville Airport; 5.57…

3. Jul 21, 2003Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A second round of heavy rain fell on Crawford County during the evening hours. Rainfall rates well in excess of an inch per hour combined with soil saturated from the earlier rains led to a second round of flash flooding. More roads and culverts were washed out, especially across the southern half of county. Evacuations initiated during the afternoon storms continued through the evening hours. Hundreds of people were displaced from their homes. Rainfall totals for the day were generally four to six inches. 4.07 inches of rain was measured at the Meadville Airport with 4.90 inches at Linesville and around 4 inches at both Saegertown and Cambridge Springs. Bucket surveys in the…

4. May 21, 2004Flash Flood$4.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms dumped heavy rains on Crawford County during the predawn hours of May 21st. This rainfall combined with ground already saturated from heavy rains the previous few days led to widespread flooding across the county. The central portion of the county, including the Meadville area was very hard hit. Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches were reported with 1.41 inches measured at the Meadville Airport through 7 a.m. Cooperative observers measured 2.03 inches of rain in Titusville and 1.80 inches in Springboro. Area streams and creeks quickly rose overnight causing several roads to become flooded. A tributary of French Creek quickly went into flood around 5 a.m. after a culvert…

5. May 25, 2004Tornado$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado touched down three miles west of Custards and then tracked east for seven miles. The tornado finally lifted just west of Cochranton near U.S Highway 322. The damage path was continuous, up to 50 yards in width and roughly parallel to State Route 285. Significant damage occurred along the damage path. At least ten homes were damaged with two large farm buildings destroyed. Two factories west of Custards along Delano Road were also heavily damaged. One factory lost over 16,000 square feet of roofing and had much of it's inventory destroyed. The second factory was also heavily damaged on one side. Twelve semi trailers parked outside this factory were overturned and…

6. Sep 9, 2004Flood, Crawford$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy rains associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Frances caused French Creek in Meadville to rise to it's highest level in 45 years. The creek climbed above the flood stage of 14 feet around daybreak on September 9th. The river crested at 16.36 feet around 10 a.m on the 10th. This level was the highest non-ice affected crest on record. The river finally went below flood stage at midday on the 11th. Damage along the creek was extensive. Meadville's Fifth Ward was especially hard hit with hundreds of homes and businesses damaged. The flooding was particularly bad along Spring Street, Lincoln Avenue and Columbia Street. All but one road leading into Meadville…

7. May 22, 2004Flash Flood$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains fell on much of Crawford County as yet another band of thunderstorms moved through the area just after daybreak. Between one and two inches of rain fell between daybreak and 9 a.m. Spotters in Springboro measured three-quarters of an inch of rain between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m. This rain combined with ground already saturated from heavy rains the previous few days led to another round of devastating flooding in the county. This situation was made even more serious when another cluster of thunderstorms moved through the county during the afternoon hours. Many streams and creeks again left their banks washing out several roads and bridges. Dozens of roads in the county had to…

8. Sep 14, 2008High Wind, Crawford$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ike began during the early evening hours of September 14th and continued through late evening. Wind gusts were estimated to be around 60 mph with the strongest winds occurring between 8 and 10 pm. A 53 mph gust was measured by an automated sensor at the Meadville Airport at 9:28 PM EDT. Damage in the county was extensive with hundreds of trees and many utility poles downed. Scattered power outages occurred with some customers without power for a couple days. Homes and buildings were damaged throughout the county. The damage ranged from a few shingles torn off to significant structural damage caused by fallen trees landing on…

9. Jul 28, 2006Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Another wave of thunderstorms moved across Crawford County and dumped more heavy rain on the county. Up to two additional inches of rain fell on the county between midnight and 3 a.m. causing widespread flooding to redevelop in the county. The central and southern sections of the county saw the worst flooding. Some rainfall totals from the evening of the 27th through the early morning hours of the 28th included: 4.04 inches at Jamestown; 3.26 inches at the Meadville Airport; 2.99 inches at Linesville; 2.90 inches at Blooming Valley and 2.80 inches at Titusville. A large mudslide occurred in Meadville just after 2:00 a.m. About 15 homes had to be evacuated in the southern half of…

10. Jul 19, 1996Flash Flood$1.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy thunderstorm rain caused major flooding of roads, basements, streams and low lying areas. Numerous roads were closed and snowplows had to be used to clear them of debris. Bridges, culverts, sewers and roads were washed out by water, rock and mud slides. Route 8 near Titusville was severely damaged. A basement cave-in occurred in Saegertown. Firefighters rescued people threatened by French Creek when it overflowed its banks, damaging homes, camps and cars along Route 285 outside of Cochranton. Fifty homes were evacuated in Conneautville when Conneaut Creek overflowed its banks. In Meadville, 80 basements were flooded, streets were torn up and the entrance to the Meadville…

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

97°FJul 21, 2011

All-time low

−14°FFeb 20, 2015

Warmest night

75°F2 times, most recently Jul 1, 2026

Coldest day

−1°FFeb 15, 2015

Wettest day

3.76 inSep 8, 2004

Hottest year

2024mean 52.5°F

Coldest year

2014mean 46.8°F

Wettest year

201155.47 in

Driest year

200132.80 in

Station Meadville Port Meadville Airport (USW00004843), 1,403 ft elevation, 6.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1997 to October 26, 2026; 97.1% 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 USW00004843.
• 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.