Hurricanes and Pennsylvania
    The following are some of Pennsylvania's significant tropical cyclones:

1775        The potent remnants of a hurricane lashed Philadelphia on Sept. 2-3. "A violent gale
of wind from NE to SE with much heavy rain, lightning and thunder--a remarkably high tide in
the Delaware (River) this morning," according to an observer.

1795          A pair of storms brought flooding rains to eastern sections of the state in August.
"The rains for a few days past have been greater and the floods higher than ever before known
in Pennsylvania," according to a Philadelphia newspaper.

1869        The Saxby Gale. On October 4, a coastal hurricane brought widespread heavy rain
to the northeastern U.S., from Virginia to Maine. Eastern Pennsylvania collected more than 5
inches. Severe flooding throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

1877      On Oct. 4-5, a remnant tropical system tracked near Pennsylvania, dumping more
than 10 inches of rain on southeastern sections. Flash flooding and several deadly railroad
wrecks occurred in eastern Pennsylvania..

1878        The Great October Gale on the 23rd. Philadelphia's most destructive windstorm.
Hurricane-force winds severely damaged or destroyed about 700 buildings. Considerable
structural damage throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. Gusts in some places peaked at
around 100 mph.

1893        October 13. A tropical cyclone raced through central Pennsylvania bringing strong
gales and tropical-storm force winds to eastern sections.  Isolated peak gusts probably reached
hurricane-force (74 mph).

1896        A hurricane that made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast devastated central
Pennsylvania on Sept. 29. One of the state's most destructive hurricane-related windstorms.
Hurricane-force gusts along a 50-mile east-west corridor, from Maryland to New York borders.
Many homes unroofed. Great numbers of  trees uprooted. The covered bridge at Columbia,
more than a mile long, succumbed to two hours of tremendous gusts.

1933        The Chesapeake and Potomac Hurricane tracked through the state on Aug. 23.
Extensive flooding in eastern Pennsylvania. Reading and York inundated. A total of 13.82
inches of rain fell in York (Aug. 21-24). Gales throughout the eastern half of the state.

1954        Hurricane Hazel on Oct. 15. Winds gusted from 75-100 mph in eastern Pennsylvania
as the storm tracked through. Philadelphia International Airport clocked 94 mph, Reading, 86
mph, Allentown, 82 mph and Harrisburg, 80 mph. Total rainfall of 4 to 6 inches caused
extensive flash flooding in western Pennsylvania. Most of central and eastern Pennsylvania
collected less than 2 inches.

1955        Hurricanes Connie and Diane on Aug. 12-13 and Aug. 18-19, respectively, dealt the
state a flood disaster. More than a foot of rain from the combined storms fell on eastern
Pennsylvania. Nearly 100 people died. Diane dumped more than 10 inches of rain in the
Poconos on previously saturated ground, causing widespread, epic, flash flooding.

1972        Hurricane Agnes struck from June 21-23 and dealt the state its most destructive
natural disaster. Flooding throughout Pennsylvania. Dozens drowned. Record flooding on the
Susquehanna and other rivers in eastern Pennsylvania. Tens of thousands of residents were
rendered homeless. Agnes was dubbed "Hurricane Agony" by the governor, who fled his home.

1975        The remnants of Hurricane Eloise dumped flooding rains on the state from Sept. 23-
26. Not as severe as the flooding from Hurricane Agnes but a major natural disaster
nevertheless.

1979        Hurricane David brought tornadoes and heavy rain to eastern Pennsylvania on Sept.
5-6. Southeastern sections generally had peak gusts of 45 to 55 mph.

1996        Hurricane Fran tracked through western Pennsylvania on Sept. 5-6. Widespread
gales and heavy rain in the western two-thirds of the state. From Sept. 4-7, 9.80 inches of rain
fell at Newville, among the highest totals in Pennsylvania. Most sections collected 3 to 6 inches
of rain during this period.

1999        Hurricane Floyd deluged southeastern Pennsylvania on Sept. 16. Doylestown tallied
10.07 inches of rain and Valley Forge, outside Philadelphia, had 10.04 inches.

2001        Tropical Storm Allison, the nation's costliest tropical storm, bucketed suburban
Philadelphia with up to 10 inches of rain on June 17.

2003        Hurricane Isabel's strong gales on Sept. 18 uprooted many trees and caused record
power outages. Southeastern Pennsylvania had its strongest hurricane-related winds since
Hazel in 1954, with gusts generally peaking at 50-60 mph, and isolated higher gusts.

2004        Several remnant tropical cyclones caused widespread, severe flooding in the state
and spawned numerous tornadoes. Rain associated with hurricanes Frances (Sept. 8-10), Ivan
(Sept. 17-19) and Jeanne (Sept. 27-28) contributed to one of the state's wettest months.
Pennsylvania Weather Links

Abundant information on southeastern Pennsylvania weather can be found at www.Phillyweather.net

Office of the Pennsylvania state climatologist: www.climate.psu.edu

Hurricane Preparedness: www.readypa.org

Unisys offers maps of hurricane tracks beginning in 1851: http://weather.unisys.com
To learn more, order Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States.            
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The  hurricane of September 1896 ranks among the state's most destructive windstorms. Two
hours of persistent gusts that likely exceeded 100 mph made splinters of the more than
mile-long covered bridge at Columbia, along the Susquehanna River. (The river did not
flood.)  (Photograph courtesy of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society)