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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Thornton, PA

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

37 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Thornton, Pennsylvania since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
35

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
93

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

7 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Thornton

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Thornton, Pennsylvania, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 25 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 973 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 45 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1063 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3010 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2867 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 639 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 262 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1672 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1335 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2627 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2851 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1572 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3055 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1822 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1374 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 131 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 368 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 171 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 199 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 338 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3053 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 420 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1561 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1634 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 119 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2932 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1151 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2263 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2365 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2347 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 553 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2942 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2640 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3070 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1937 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2853 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Thornton: 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 Thornton

By decade

  • 2020s9(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s10
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s30(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s14
  • 1970s12
  • 1960s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Thornton, Pennsylvania
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 27, 1994F323 mi2 mi3 / 25
Mar 22, 1955F37 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF321 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 27, 1994F313 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F316 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF221 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Sep 5, 1979F214 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Sep 1, 2021EF221 mi5.92 mi0 / 0
Oct 31, 2019EF21 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
May 28, 2019EF225 mi3.08 mi0 / 0
Sep 28, 2004F212 mi5 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1993F223 mi10 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 93, 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 Thornton 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