Perry County

Every recorded tornado

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

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

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. May 26, 2011Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS survey team confirmed a tornado which began in eastern Perry County, and crossed the Susquehanna River into western Dauphin County. The tornado touched down north of Route 850 in Perry County, between VFW Drive and Mountaindale Drive. The tornado tracked to the northeast, lifting occasionally as it moved across eastern Perry County and eventually to the Susquehanna River. The path indicated the tornado lifted and touched down several times. Damage was limited mainly to over 100 trees, which were snapped and uprooted. Photographic evidence helped in making the tornado declaration. ||After crossing the Susquehanna River, the tornado touched down again in Dauphin Borough.…

2. May 28, 2009Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused extensive flash flooding across central and western portions of Perry County. Numerous roads were flooded throughout the county, including Route 233, Route 850, Route 274, Route 34 and Route 74. Approximately 25 to 30 homes along Sherman Creek were evacuated due to rising flood waters. Five water rescues were performed. Over 100 basements were flooded. Much of the flooding occurred between Landisburg and Loysville.

3. Jun 27, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS storm survey team along with Perry County emergency management viewed the thunderstorm wind damage (wet microburst) in Howe Township, approximately one mile east of Newport near the intersection of Juniata Parkway East and Gypsy Hollow Road. Eight homes sustained minor damage to siding and awnings. An additional two homes had significant damage due to a tree falling on one and another with half the metal roof removed. Up to 100 trees were knocked down in an area near the Juniata River. Estimated wind speeds ranged from 65 to 90 mph. There were no injures.

4. May 29, 2019Tornado$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team confirmed an EF1 tornado near Losh Run in Perry County Pennsylvania on May 29, 2019.||An EF1 tornado touched down southeast of Newport near the intersection of Route 849 and Narrows Road and progressed nearly due east for approximately 5 miles, finally lifting just east of the Juniata River near Route 322.||The most extensive damage was along Mahanoy Road, where it meets Newport Road (Route 849). In this area, the tornado downed hundreds of trees, including one tree that fell onto and destroyed a pickup truck. Some tree limbs also fell onto rooftops, but little other property damage was observed. East of this location, damage was mainly…

5. Jun 9, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm, producing wind gusts estimated near 60 mph, knocked down two trees on a house and into a bedroom of a residence southwest of Saville. No injuries were reported.

6. Jul 5, 2026Tornado$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 100 mph, a path length of 0.55 miles, and a maximum width of 300 yards occurred along Lamb's Gap Road in Perry County on July 5, 2026. The tornado path started just north of Evergreen Drive, and traveled south-southwest breaking off and uprooting numerous trees. The most concentrated damage was along Lamb's Gap Road near the edge of the State Game Lands. The damage seemed to end less than 50 yards to the southwest of Lamb's Gap Road.

7. Apr 26, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Part of a roof was taken off a house and several light standards were blown over at a ball park in Loysville. Winds also damaged a roof in Newport.

8. Mar 21, 2002High Wind, Perry$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong cold front crossed the region on March 21st, accompanied by strong damaging winds. A roof was reported off of a building in Perry County, while in Cumberland County a roof was torn from a mobile home. Numerous trees were reported down in Gettysburg with the passage of the cold front. In addition, two greenhouses were blown away in Lancaster County, one in Brunnerville and the second in Manheim.

9. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$20,000
10. Apr 29, 2025Lightning$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a lightning pole near the town of Reward which knocked out power across the area. It also caused a tree to catch fire.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 3, 2026

All-time low

−22°FJan 21, 1994

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Jul 3, 2026

Coldest day

−1°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

7.71 inSep 7, 2011

Snowiest day

26.4 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2021mean 56.9°F

Coldest year

1963mean 51.4°F

Wettest year

201173.73 in

Driest year

200125.76 in

Snowiest season

77.6 in1995-96

Station Middletown Harrisburg International Airport (USW00014711), 299 ft elevation, 25.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00014711.
• 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.