York County

Every recorded tornado

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

The National Weather Service sets flood stages for 1 gauge here but lists no crests for it.

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 (2).

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 9, 2004Flash Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   According to York County 911 dispatchers and spotters, minor flooding began across the county around 8:50 pm, with some water reported on Country Club Road and Route 24 in the Red Lion area. County Emergency Management Officials then reported that numerous streams and creeks began to overtop their banks between 10:00 pm EST and 10:15 pm EST, and was considered the start of significant flooding by EMA officials. Heavy rains caused localized flooding of creeks and streams in Felton Borough, East Hopewell, Lower Chanceford and Lower Windsor townships, all southeast of the city of York. Numerous secondary roads and bridges were closed by the flood waters and debris. Radar estimates…

2. Sep 7, 2011Flood$4.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Life-threatening flash flooding resulted in numerous water rescues across York County. Additionally, home evacuations were reported in Dover and Felton, and Route 74 was closed near Weigelstown.||A tractor-trailer carrying huge concrete slabs drove through the flooded intersection of Lincoln Highway and Kreutz Creek Road in Hallam and rescued people from the roofs of their vehicles. Wrightsville also reported major flooding and roads were closed in all directions out of town. A stream was reported to have eroded an embankment at the Mount Rose exit off of Interstate 83. Multiple water rescues in occurred in York, Hallam, Mount Wolf, Red Lion, Loganville and Shrewsbury. Water came…

3. Jun 21, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm with estimated winds near 60 mph brought down multiple trees.

4. Feb 25, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A microburst produced straight line winds of 70 to 80 mph, producing a nine mile swath of wind damage that was approximately one mile in width across east-central York County and into far western Lancaster County. Numerous trees were toppled or snapped along the damage path, and several structures sustained roof damage. The damage path ran from just northwest of Freysville in York County east-northeastward to Columbia in Lancaster County.

5. Sep 24, 2001Tornado$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Grand Valley Road at 17:33 EST about 5 miles South of Hanover PA. The tornado proceded northward, through Parkville then lifting to the north of Blooming Grove at 17:40 EST. The path of the tornado was about 5 miles in length but not always on the ground while the width varied from 50 to 200 yards. The top wind speeds were estimated at 110 to 120 mph. There were no injuries or deaths. Significant damage included 8 homes with roofs torn off, brick and structural damage to several additional homes, 50 to 75 trees knocked down, 38 cars damaged at a car dealership, significant roof and water damage to a middle school and administration building, and…

6. Feb 4, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A team of National Weather Service personnel, media, and Emergency Management officials conducted a damage survey in York, PA.A downburst damaged the roof of a hotel in Manchester Township, near the intersection of Interstate 83 and Route 30 around 8:50 pm EST. The southern section of the southwest facing rooms of the 2 story structure took the brunt of strong South-southwest wind gust, estimated at near 75 mph. About 20 to 30 rooms had full or partial glass damage with partial roof structural damage. Much of the roof coating material (asphalt layers & stone) was stripped from the building and ended up as debris missiles providing significant damage to parked cars in its path and…

7. Jun 10, 2009Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency Management reported heavy rain and flash flooding in south-central York County. The majority of the significant flooding was in Codorus Township, North Codorus Township, Jefferson Borough, Seven Valleys Borough and Shrewsbury Township. North Codorus Township was most heavily impacted with 15 to 20 roads sustaining moderate to major damage and culvert and berm wash-outs. Some bridge surface wash-out was also reported. Approximately 8 homes had flooded basements, with one garage that also had some foundation damage. During the event, there were two water rescues where water had surrounded their homes. Their were no injuries. ||The onset of minor flooding which included…

8. Jun 22, 2001Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced extensive flooding across York County the afternoon and early evening of June 22nd. Spotter reports indicated that 3 to 5 inch rainfall amounts were common across the county, with a local maximum of 8 inches measured in Loganville. Extensive road flooding was reported, with over 40 roads closed. Four bridges, including Laurel Road Bridge in Chanceford Township, Red Lion Avenue Bridge in Felton, Trinity Road Bridge at Chanceford Township and Dull, and Husson Roads Bridge in Windsor Township were closed. Many roads were damaged, including a 100 foot section of Water Tank Road in Manheim. Two building collapses were also blamed on the weight of the rain. One water…

9. Feb 25, 2017Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF1 tornado was confirmed in Hellam Township, between Hallam and Wrightsville, by a NWS storm survey. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at 90 mph, with a path length of just under two miles and a maximum path width of 100 yards.

10. Apr 9, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several trailers were damaged by an estimated wind gust of 75 mph. Several structures and automobiles were also damaged in Craley at 1925 EST by the same thunderstorm.

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, 17.6 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.