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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Christiana, PA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

28 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Christiana, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
26

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
76

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

3 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Christiana

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Christiana, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 115 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
2020IsaiasAug 420 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2012SandyOct 304 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 661 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 336 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1996BerthaJul 1357 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2623 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 187 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1351 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 4
1954HazelOct 1565 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 113 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2956 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 150 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1921 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2455 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 313 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4overheadTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1659 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 15 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2370 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2912 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1171 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2253 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2324 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 473 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2964 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2662 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1961 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Christiana: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Christiana

By decade

  • 2020s9
  • 2010s10
  • 2000s9
  • 1990s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s9
  • 1970s11
  • 1960s3
  • 1950s5(2 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Christiana, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 22, 1955F322 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Jul 27, 1994F317 mi4 mi0 / 11
Nov 4, 1950F320 mi15.9 mi0 / 1
Sep 5, 1979F215 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Sep 1, 2021EF27 mi5.92 mi0 / 0
May 28, 2019EF218 mi3.08 mi0 / 0
Feb 24, 2016EF26 mi4.87 mi0 / 0
Sep 18, 2004F222 mi2 mi0 / 0
May 2, 2002F216 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
May 31, 1998F21 mi7 mi0 / 0
May 29, 1995F222 mi2.5 mi0 / 1
Aug 28, 1992F24 mi2 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Christiana while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Pennsylvania