Elk County

Every recorded tornado

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

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1), USGS Conterminous (1).

Deadly landslides

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. Jun 21, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph brought down trees near Russell City.

2. Mar 16, 2025Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado occurred along North Fork Road in Elk County during the afternoon hours of March 16, 2025 with maximum estimated winds at 100 mph. The tornado was on the ground for less than one minute, but downed, snapped, and uprooted hundreds of trees and power lines. A local resident indicated that a window was blown in at their residence along with a barn roof being partially lifted due to the tornado. The damage was concentrated within a swath about 200 yards wide.

3. May 18, 2008Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Elk County 911 Center sustained a lightening strike that disrupted nearly all communications and damaged or destroyed key equipment. EMA officials said they lost several computers and dispatchers were using portable radios to dispatch emergency crews. There were no injuries.

4. Dec 1, 2010Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts between 2 and 4 inches produced extensive flooding. The heavy rainfall over the headwaters of the Allegheny basin caused the Clarion River to rise into moderate flood stage at Johnsonburg and Ridgway, cresting at 9.72 and 19.21 feet respectively. Both crests were in the top five all-time. The Main Street bridge in Ridgway was impassable. Numerous state, county and municipal roads were closed with many residents affected along Penn Avenue. Several basements were flooded with up to 5 feet of water. SR 948 and and SR 66 were closed along Spring Creek.

5. Oct 16, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$22,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down numerous trees along River Road to the east of Bridge Road. One tree fell on a house, another on a cabin, and trees fell onto two parked cars.

6. Oct 16, 2021Tornado$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado was confirmed to have occurred in in Millstone Township, western Elk County during the morning of October 16, 2021. The tornado touched down in Jefferson County, PA and crossed the Clarion River into western Elk County around 8:08am. Maximum estimated wind speeds of 90 mph knocked down and uprooted several trees along River Road. One tree fell onto a cabin, and a hunter who was in a tree-stand was injured. The tornado had a maximum path width of 260 yards, and the path length in Elk County was a little over 0.6 miles.

7. Apr 15, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm, producing wind gusts estimated near 60 mph, knocked down wires on Redwood Street near Weedville, which fell onto multiple vehicles.

8. Mar 16, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms producing wind gusts estimated at 60 mph knocked down multiple trees and powerlines in Saint Marys.

9. Jun 16, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$14,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph produced multiple reports of trees and wires down in Saint Mays. One tree went through the window of a house on Grant Street.

10. Dec 12, 2000High Wind, Elk$14,000

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

110°FJul 13, 1927

All-time low

−35°FFeb 2, 1961

Warmest night

74°FJul 28, 1919

Coldest day

−6°FJan 18, 1977

Wettest day

4.40 inAug 14, 1994

Snowiest day

17.0 inDec 11, 1992

Hottest year

1913mean 51.1°F

Coldest year

1940mean 43.8°F

Wettest year

201859.93 in

Driest year

193027.63 in

Snowiest season

93.3 in1960-61

Station Ridgway (USC00367477), 1,360 ft elevation, 6.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1913 to October 23, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00367477.
• 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.