Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Jun 18, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding occurred as thunderstorms stalled and dumped torrential rains across the St. Thomas area west of Chambersburg. Up to 12 inches of rain fell in the area overnight, washing out roads and flooding homes. A 42 year old female drowned after driving into a flooded road at 11:45 p.m. Rescue attempts failed. Damage estimates were in the range of $1 million.

2. Jan 19, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong winds damaged several homes and destroyed one in Fayetteville. Eleven other homes in Southhampton Township were damaged. High winds ahead of and along a strong cold front were also responsible for much of the rapid melt of the deep snow cover that combined with heavy rains to cause extensive flooding in Franklin County and across the state.

3. Apr 19, 2019Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey confirmed an EF-2 tornado near near St. Thomas in Franklin County Pennsylvania on April 19, 2019.||The initial and most intense (EF-2) damage occurred at C & R Produce just north of U.S. Route 30. Several power poles were snapped. There was also significant damage to commercial buildings on the C & R property. The tornado damage continued north-northeast along Apple Way with numerous uprooted/snapped trees including nearby orchards. Several residential homes and commercial buildings/garages were also damaged near Summerswood Drive. Maximum winds were estimated at 125 mph.

4. Jul 21, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm microburst produced straight line wind damage in Fayetteville, PA. Approximately 100 trees were downed by strong winds along a path approximately 700 yards long and 100 yards wide. Most of this damage occurred in a forested area alongside the road between 1640 and 1350 Woodstock Rd. In addition to this concentrated swath of damage, peripheral wind damage was scattered between Fayetteville and Chambersburg, including several isolated instances of trees down and damage to roofs of buildings. Wind in this area was estimated at 70-80 mph. A roof was ripped off a warehouse building on the 1600 block of Lincoln Highway. Another roof was partially removed from a…

5. May 27, 2022Tornado$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief EF-0 tornado impacted Franklin County on Friday, May 27th, 2022. The tornado touched down at approximately 11:45 AM EDT near Hartzok Road and quickly dissipated at 11:46 AM EDT after crossing Hartzok Road, traveling about 0.27 miles, producing estimated peak winds of 75 mph and a max path width of 185 yards. The tornado destroyed one pole barn, damaged an outbuilding, moved a shed off its foundation, damaged two homes, and snapped many hardwood trees. The tornado touched down as an EF-0 near Hartzok Road where it snapped several hardwood trees. The tornado then destroyed a pole barn and picked up a large and very heavy farming auger. The auger was found approximately 100…

6. Jan 6, 2024Heavy Snow, Franklin$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm produced 5 to 6 inches of snowfall across Franklin County, with localized amounts of 7 to 8 inches on the highest ridgetops, as snow began in the morning hours of January 6, 2024 and continued through the evening hours. The northbound lanes of Interstate 81 were closed for a period of time due to a crash involving multiple tractor trailers with one notably jack-knifed. Later, there was a crash involving multiple tractor trailers that closed the northbound lane for another period of time. There were no injuries reported with any of the crashes.

7. Jul 23, 2009Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced flash flooding just south of Chambersburg along Interstate 81 between mile markers 10 and 13. The northbound lane at the Lighthouse Road overpass was covered by four inches of water. Eight residents were displaced due to flooding in Chambersburg Borough along Falling Spring Road. A partial foundation collapse occurred to a home on Country Road in Guilford Township. Nearly five inches of rainfall was reported in Scotland between 330 and 600 pm EDT.

8. Nov 19, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Radio tower toppled in Letterkenney Township near Upper Strasburg.

9. Jul 21, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm producing winds estimated near 60 mph knocked down dozens of trees and damaged roofs in Chambersburg.

10. May 23, 2010Flash Flood$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Persistent heavy rain from slow-moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding in west-central Franklin County. Numerous roads were closed in Peters, Hamilton and Letterkenny Townships. Several cars and recreational vehicles were submerged in flood waters of 5 feet or more at the Twin Bridge Meadow Family campground near Chambersburg, where at least 10-15 campers were rescued after being stranded. A wall collapse occurred at a residence in St. Thomas Township due to the flooding.

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

105°FJul 22, 2011

All-time low

−16°FJan 19, 1994

Warmest night

82°FJul 22, 2011

Coldest day

1°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.43 inJun 10, 1937

Snowiest day

28.6 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

1998mean 55.9°F

Coldest year

1978mean 50.1°F

Wettest year

199663.98 in

Driest year

200124.57 in

Snowiest season

93.4 in1995-96

Station Shippensburg (USC00368073), 680 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1911 to October 19, 2026; 99.7% 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 USC00368073.
• 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.