Hurricanes that hit Centre County, Pennsylvania: hurricane history

13 storms have passed within 50 km of Centre County from 1861 to 1999, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Centre County

The record holds 13 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Centre County, Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1999. The busiest month is September, with 7 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 1 strength. 1 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 13storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 1at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Centre County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression431%
Tropical storm754%
Category 118%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity18%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Centre County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 2 in 1880s.1860s11870s11880s21890s21930s11940s11950s11960s11970s21990s1

The 1990s only run to 1999, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1861, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1860s1
1870s1
1880s2
1890s2
1930s1
1940s1
1950s1
1960s1
1970s2
1990s1

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun1Jul0Aug2Sep7Oct3Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun1
Jul0
Aug2
Sep7
Oct3
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Centre County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1893 (North Atlantic)25 September 1893 to 15 October 1893, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 955 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1876 (North Atlantic)10 September 1876 to 20 September 1876, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 980 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1896 (North Atlantic)22 September 1896 to 30 September 1896, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 960 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1933 (North Atlantic)13 August 1933 to 28 August 1933, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 948 hPa
  • Connie (1955)3 August 1955 to 15 August 1955, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 944 hPa

Most recent storms near Centre County

  • Dennis (1999)24 August 1999 to 8 September 1999, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 962 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa
  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

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