Lebanon County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lebanon County: 1.
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 14, 2004Tornado$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms spawned a strong F3 tornado in southern Lebanon County during the afternoon of July 14. The tornado first touched down in far western Lebanon County at 3:05 pm EDT, about 1 mile west of the town of Campbelltown. The tornado traveled east, and struck a housing development about one quarter mile south of Route 322. A total of 32 homes were destroyed, with another 37 homes sustaining significant damage. An additional 50 homes and 9 farm buildings in the area were damaged by downburst winds associated with the thunderstorm which spawned the tornado. The tornado continued along a path to the east for seven and one half miles. The tornado crossed Route 322 west of Mount…

2. Sep 7, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Swatara Creek at Harper Tavern crested at record/major flood stage, 24.46 feet. Flood stage is 9.0 feet. This is the 2nd highest crest on record.||A 55-year old man was swept away in floodwaters from Route 72 just north of Frog Hollow Drive in Swatara Township. He was trapped in rising waters on Swatara Creek.|The Lebanon County Emergency Management Agency fielded 4,500 calls, normal calls number 200. Another man attempted to warn motorists of the high water potential when he was struck and killed by a vehicle on West Cumberland Street in North Lebanon Township.||The Quittapahilla Creek was out of its banks and flooding roadways around Annville. Cleona Borough reported significant…

3. Apr 28, 2002Tornado$775,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Lindley Murry Road and Schoolhouse Lane in East Hanover Twonship, near the town of Ono. The tornado path length was 1.5 miles long, and the width was up to 150 yards. Top wind speeds were estimated at 90 mph, making this a category F1 tornado. Damage from this tornado included 12 homes that were damaged or destroyed, fifteen barns damaged or destroyed and dozens of large trees.

4. Jun 25, 2000Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains fell across lebanon County, with the hardest hit areas around the city of Lebanon and Annville. In Richland, 5.6 inches of rain were reported, including 4.85 inches that fell in the first 2 hours of the storm. Basements and roads flooded across the county. Rescue boats from Lebanon and Dauphin Counties rescued stranded motorists and residents in many areas. Especially hard hit were areas from Annville and east. Twenty-eight mobile homes were evacuated in South Annville as waters of Killinger Creek flooded the park. Long-time residents said the flooding was worse than during Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

5. Jun 27, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line winds caused damage in Lebanon County as determined by a NWS Storm Survey Team. Wind speeds were estimated between 90 and 100 mph. Damage, which occurred between 5:45 pm and 5:50 pm local time, took place in a path 3 miles wide by 4 miles long. Most of the damage occurred in the town of Fredericksburg. Hundereds of trees were downed, and hail the size of golfballs (1.75 inch) was observed. At the Farmers Pride Airport, 2 airplane hangers were damaged and 5 aircraft were destroyed.

6. Dec 19, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of showers producing wind gusts estimated at 60 mph knocked down trees and power lines across Lebanon County.

7. Feb 12, 2009High Wind, Lebanon$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Non-thunderstorm wind gusts between 55 and 65 mph toppled numerous trees and power lines across Lebanon County. A barn roof was blown off and reported on the road on King Street in South Lebanon Township. The Fort Indiantown Gap military airport recorded a peak gust of 61 mph.

8. Jun 22, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS meteorologists surveyed downburst/straight-line wind damage at the Bowman Farm east of Campbelltown just south of the Route 322. Significant structural damage was found including the removal of the roof and partial collapse of the second story. Several windows were shattered due to flying debris or hail. At least three other barns or outbuildings sustained damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 80 mph.

9. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$20,000
10. Feb 27, 2000High Wind, Lebanon$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Winds whipped through the small community of Buffalo Springs in Heidelberg Township late in the evening of the 27th. A large showroom window was broken at an automobile dealer when a 125-foot parking shed was lifted by the winds and blown against the building, parts of the shed were also scattered into an adjacent field, and other parts also damaged some used cars in the lot nearby. A couple of cow sheds were also demolished on a neighboring farm.

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 4, 1966

All-time low

−22°FJan 22, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJul 3, 2026

Coldest day

0°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

8.85 inJun 22, 1972

Snowiest day

24.0 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2012mean 54.7°F

Coldest year

1992mean 49.6°F

Wettest year

201879.52 in

Driest year

199130.93 in

Snowiest season

61.7 in1995-96

Station Lebanon 2 W (USC00364896), 450 ft elevation, 1.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1965 to August 31, 2026; 98.9% 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 USC00364896.
• 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.