Pine Ridge, PA Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Pine Ridge is about the same as Pennsylvania average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Pine Ridge is lower than Pennsylvania average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #591
| Pine Ridge, PA | 0.16 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.17 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Pine Ridge, PA | 0.0000 |
| Pennsylvania | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #1987
| Pine Ridge, PA | 74.31 |
| Pennsylvania | 109.77 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 5,723 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Pine Ridge, PA were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 7 | Cold: | 92 | Dense Fog: | 31 | Drought: | 111 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 795 | Hail: | 630 | Heat: | 156 | Heavy Snow: | 235 |
| High Surf: | 8 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 25 | Landslide: | 1 | Strong Wind: | 332 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,989 | Tropical Storm: | 3 | Wildfire: | 39 | Winter Storm: | 173 | Winter Weather: | 245 |
| Other: | 851 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Pine Ridge, PA.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Pine Ridge, PA.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Pine Ridge, PA.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 29 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Pine Ridge, PA.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 8.5 | 1998-05-31 | 3 | 41°18'N / 75°06'W | 41°14'N / 74°52'W | 20.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: The cell that produced tornadic damage earlier both in southern Wayne county and just upstream in Promised Land State Park dropped a tornado once again across the southern and southeastern portions of Pike county. A nearly continuous 20 mile path was uncovered via aerial storm surveys from Pecks Pond east-southeastward to near route 739 in Delaware township. The average width of the damage path was about 200 yards. The twister descended once again in the Pecks Pond area around 8:20 pm EDT. At that point, the intensity was rated as F2 as the tornado cut down nearly every tree in its path on its way towards Blue Heron Lake. At approximately 8:30 pm, the tornado struck the small vacation community surrounding Blue Heron Lake. A summer home was leveled by the force of the twister. The only things left standing were an interior wall and a few sturdy metal cabinets on the floor in the kitchen. An adjacent mobile home was severely damaged as well. Two campers near this area had minor injuries from falling tree limbs. Otherwise, though, injuries were kept to a minimum as homes were mostly vacant. In addition, an estimated thousands of trees were sheared off or toppled bordering Blue Heron Lake both to the west and east. The twister's intensity increased at this point to F3. Further downstream, the tornado continued to cut a consistent path of twisted off and/or uprooted trees across the Little Mud Pond, Silver Lake, and Deer Leap Factory areas. The tornado appeared to skip across hilltop sections along this route with its intensity mainly in the F1 range. Finally, just before 8:45 pm EDT, the tornado ascended once again in Delaware township as little in the way of damage was evident between route 739 and the Delaware River. In all, emergency management and federal officials estimated that in excess of 1 million dollars damage was incurred along this approximately 20 mile path. Many roads were closed as they became impassable due to fallen trees and wires. Portions of routes 402 and 390 were closed for several days. In addition, sections of Promised Land State Park were closed off to the public for about two weeks until all debris was cleared away and power was restored. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 15.1 | 1976-03-21 | 3 | 40°59'N / 75°11'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Monroe | |
| 17.3 | 1998-05-31 | 2 | 41°20'N / 75°12'W | 41°21'N / 75°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: The tornadic supercell that affected southern Wayne county a bit earlier in the evening continued eastward into Pike county. A tornado touched down briefly in Promised Land and then plowed through portions of Promised Land State Park before temporarily lifting into the cloud base. The twister cut approximately a 2 mile by 500 yard path through heavily forested areas of the park. Camp sites were littered with trees as the tornado cut down hundreds of them. Some of the trees were very sizeable and they were still chopped down or twisted off quite easily as evidenced by ground and aerial post storm surveys. A few homes near the path of the twister sustained minor to moderate damage from falling trees. Fortunately, camp grounds and vacation homes were largely unoccupied when the tornado struck. The tornado appeared to be near ground level for only a few minutes as the damage path became discontinuous again just east of the park. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 17.6 | 1998-05-31 | 2 | 41°22'N / 75°10'W | 41°22'N / 75°08'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 400K | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: A severe thunderstorm became tornadic just south of Interstate 84 and east of Tarey Hill in Blooming Grove township around 8:20 pm EDT. The tornado cut approximately a 3 mile by 200 yard path paralleling Interstate 84. The twister moved through heavily forested areas and mowed down hundreds of trees in its path. Again, many of the trees were quite sizeable and appeared to be toppled easily. The damage pattern was circular in spots as viewed by aerial surveys. Fortunately, little in the way of houses or populated regions were in the path of this particular tornado. The tornado's intensity seemed to fluctuate between F1 and F2. The tornado lifted back up just east of route 739 near Cranberry Ridge as little in the way of damage was seen downstream of this point. Several local roads were closed for up to 24 hours from fallen trees. An intensifying storm system moved across upstate New York and into southern Quebec early in the morning on the 31st. This system dragged a warm front across northeastern Pennsylvania. Behind this front, a southerly flow of warm, moist, and unstable air quickly developed. This set the stage for the development of severe weather later that afternoon as a cold front and strong upper air disturbance approached. From late in the afternoon until late that evening, northeastern Pennsylvania was under siege from severe thunderstorms, including several tornadic supercells. In all, nine separate tornadoes touched down on this day. Overall damage estimates run into the millions with many homes and structures heavily damaged or destroyed. The most devastating storms occurred in Pike county. Within about a 3 hour stretch from 7 to 10 pm EDT, four different twisters affected the county. One tornadic cell was responsible for knocking down thousands of healthy large trees in and around Promised Land State Park with several vacation homes damaged or leveled. Fortunately, injuries were kept at a minimum. Widespread straight line wind damage also occurred with hailstones the size of ping pong balls falling in some places. The north side of Scranton had extensive wind damage as a storm passed through shortly before 10 pm EDT and sections of Wayne and Luzerne counties had roads closed and/or blocked from falling trees for more than 2 days after the storm. Pennsylvania Power and Light Company estimated that hundreds of thousands of customers were without power at the height of the storms on the evening of the 31st. Some of the more remote locations did not have power restored for the better part of a week. | |||||||||||
| 18.4 | 2009-07-29 | 2 | 40°55'N / 75°15'W | 40°58'N / 75°11'W | 5.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 1.0M | 0K | Monroe |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF-2 tornado with estimated maximum wind speeds of 120 mph touched down and affected Hamilton and Stroud Townships. The highest wind speeds and worst reported damage occurred on Middle Road in Hamilton Township and Stroudsmoor Road in Stroud Township. Two men were injured and about 10,000 homes and businesses lost power. Hundreds of trees were destroyed and at least 25 telephone poles had to be replaced. Power was not fully restored until the 31st. In Hamilton Township, two homes suffered roof damage and four large farm buildings and one garage were destroyed. In Stroud Township, one home lost its roof, two others had trees on their roofs and a section of a resort building lost its roof. This was the first reported tornado in Monroe County since July 1, 2001 and the first reported EF2 or F2 tornado in the county since October 5, 1979. The tornado touched down southwest of Kemmertown Road in Hamilton Township before causing substantial damage to the Blakeslee Farm near the intersection of Middle and Blakeslee Roads. On Kemmertown Road, a downed tree damaged a porch at an assisted living facility. At the Blakeslee Farm, the tornado destroyed three barns and a garage shed and took the roof and attic off of the home. A 46-year-old man suffered facial and rib injuries and a 66-year-old man suffered a head injury as the garage shed collapsed. In addition to the property damage, the tornado damaged the corn, hay, wheat and oat crops on the farm. Thirty percent of the trees on the property were destroyed . The tornado then lifted, causing only relatively minor damage as it followed Middle Road into Stroud Township. However, more substantial damage again occurred from Larsens Lane northeast to Fox Run Road and Essig Lane. More damage occurred as the tornado crossed Stroudsmoor Road, where numerous trees were felled, and roof damage occurred to the Stroudsmoor Country Inn. A downed tree also damaged a home on Stroudsmoor Road. Another downed tree damaged a home on Pennsylvania State Route 191. The tornado lifted just before it moved over the intersections of Routes 191 and 611 (Foxtwon Hill Road) just south of Stroudsburg. The tornado was on the ground for about 4.6 miles and its maximum width was about 100 yards. Damage was estimated at 1 million dollars. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front retreating to the north and a cold front approaching from the west produced strong to severe thunderstorms across eastern Pennsylvania during the afternoon of the 29th. One EF-2 tornado also occurred. | |||||||||||
| 19.6 | 1981-07-20 | 2 | 40°51'N / 75°09'W | 40°55'N / 75°07'W | 4.10 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Northampton |
| 19.9 | 1981-10-26 | 2 | 40°52'N / 74°53'W | 0.80 Mile | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Warren | |
| 21.0 | 2009-07-29 | 2 | 41°14'N / 74°40'W | 41°18'N / 74°34'W | 7.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 800K | 200K | Sussex |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF-2 tornado touched down in Wantage Township at about 248 p.m. EDT on the 29th. It was the first confirmed tornado in Sussex County since August of 1990, the first tornado of F2 or EF2 strength ever in the county since records started in 1950 and the first tornado to reach EF2 or F2 strength in New Jersey since the Manalapan tornado of May 27, 2001. The tornado remained on the ground for 6.6 miles before it crossed the border into New York State. Its maximum width was about 100 yards and its highest estimated wind speed was 120 mph. The tornado damaged thousands of trees, decimated acres of farmland and some rural property. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Route 519 and Rutgers Road, then crossed Libertyville Road, Snoyer Road and Ramsey Road, producing minor tree and limb damage along the way. More substantial damage, mainly in the form of downed trees and some minor structural damage, occurred after the tornado crossed New Jersey State Route 23 near its intersection with Unionville Road and Rose Morrow Road. The worst damage of the entire tornado occurred along Beemer Road and on the north side of New Jersey State Route 23. Substantial damage occurred to the Ricker Farm, as two barns and one silo were destroyed. Two other barns suffered severe wind damage. Some minor damage also occurred to the adjacent farmhouse. Pieces of one barn roof were found three quarters of a mile away. A two week old calf was killed by the flying debris, two others were thrown fifty feet, but not seriously hurt. Damage estimates for the Ricker farm reached as high as $500,000. Hundreds of trees were felled further north along Beemer Road, and power was out for several hours as power lines were brought down by the tornado and falling trees. The tornado weakened after it crossed Wolfpit Road and Black Dirt Road on its way into New York State. On Wolfpit Road, it ripped the porch from a home and lifted a boat and carried it one quarter of a mile away. A vineyard in the township was also damaged. The tornado crossed into Orange County, New York near Quarry Road as an EF-1. No other deaths or injuries were reported from this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front retreating to the north and a cold front approaching from the west produced strong to severe thunderstorms across New Jersey during the afternoon and early evening of the 29th. One EF-2 tornado also occurred. The wind damage and lightning resulted in about 57,000 homes and businesses in losing power. | |||||||||||
| 21.5 | 1972-09-13 | 2 | 41°09'N / 75°24'W | 0.10 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Monroe | |
| 22.1 | 1981-07-20 | 2 | 40°55'N / 74°45'W | 40°52'N / 74°42'W | 3.60 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Morris |
| 24.0 | 1974-04-14 | 2 | 40°49'N / 74°50'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Hunterdon | |
| 24.1 | 1979-10-05 | 2 | 40°54'N / 75°19'W | 0.30 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Monroe | |
| 24.7 | 1973-05-28 | 3 | 40°51'N / 74°43'W | 0.40 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 12 | 250K | 0 | Morris | |
| 26.3 | 2010-07-23 | 2 | 41°36'N / 75°13'W | 41°26'N / 74°58'W | 17.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Wayne |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This was the third and most significant tornado touch down from the storm. The damage path begins three miles northeast of Honesdale. Significant tree damage occurred. Trees fell on an attached garage on Torrey Road. Barn roofs were peeled. The tornado intensifies as it moved along Dunn Road. Trees are snapped, uprooted and thrown in what appears to be two separate paths through dense woods indicating mulit-vortex. Several structures had damage from fallen trees. A fence was pulled out of the ground and strewn in different directions. The greatest damage occurred about 4 miles east of Honesdale and 1.5 miles west of Beach Lake where Dunn Road meets Route 652. Several structures were severely damaged or destroyed including a triple-wide trailer, two barns, and a commercial auto transmission business on Route 652. Here, winds were estimated to peek in the 110 to 120 MPH range putting it at the lower end of an EF2. The tornado continued to the southeast destroying trees on the west side of Williams Pond and Mud and Open Woods Ponds and then crossing into Pike County. It moved past Wolf Lake, Teedyuskung Lake, and Fawn Lake still doing EF1 damage to trees. The path begins to narrow and oscillate between EF0 with little damage to EF1 with trees snapped and uprooted. It crosses Route 590 (twice) and the Lackawaxen River east of Rowland and appears to dissipate over State Game Lands about 2 miles northeast of Greeley. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front lifted north into northeast Pennsylvania during the afternoon, putting the area into the warm and moist air mass of the warm sector, with temperatures in the mid 80s and dew points in the 70s. Showers and thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of the front in this unstable air mass. Stronger storms developed across southeast Susquehanna county, with one storm in particular developing strong rotation as it moved southeast into Wayne county. This storm went on to produce four tornadoes and other significant microburst damage as it continued southeast through Wayne and into Pike county. | |||||||||||
| 28.4 | 1988-07-14 | 3 | 41°20'N / 74°32'W | 41°20'N / 74°28'W | 7.20 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 34.7 | 1973-05-28 | 3 | 40°48'N / 74°30'W | 0.40 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Morris | |
| 35.2 | 1974-06-16 | 2 | 41°30'N / 74°30'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Orange | |
| 37.1 | 1996-11-08 | 2 | 40°48'N / 75°32'W | 40°48'N / 75°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Northampton |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down in northwestern Northampton County near Danielsville at about 340 pm EST. It remained on the ground for about two miles and lifted prior to moving over the Blue Mountain Ridge which is the dividing line between Northampton and Monroe Counties. One person was injured and two families were made homeless after their homes were destroyed. About a dozen homes were damaged, two were destroyed, three vehicles were damaged or destroyed and significant roof damage occcurred to the Salem United Methodist Church. Damage estimates were around $250,000. The tornado was rated an F2 (or strong tornado with wind estimates between 113 and 157 mph) on the Fujita Scale. Lehigh Township was declared an emergency area. The tornado touched down near the Blue Mountain Road just south of Pennsylvania State Route 946. One of the first buildings in its path was the Salem United Methodist Church which lost part of its roof and a vehicle near the church was destroyed. It proceeded eastnortheast through Danielsville. An elderly woman was injured when the tornado struck the mobile home she was in and pushed it off its foundation. Another unoccupied 70 foot by 14 foot mobile home was tossed into a ditch 50 feet away. The roof of another house was found 100 feet downwind. A playhouse and a metal school bus shelter were deposited in the trees. Numerous trees were either snapped or damaged, but the majority of damage to other homes along the periphery of the tornado's path was limited to windows and chimneys. Prior to the tornado's touch down, the same parent thunderstorm did produce some damaging winds in Treichlers along Long Lane Road. | |||||||||||
| 38.1 | 1973-02-02 | 2 | 40°36'N / 74°52'W | 0.30 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Hunterdon | |
| 38.5 | 1981-04-29 | 2 | 40°49'N / 75°35'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Carbon | |||
| 38.5 | 1981-07-26 | 3 | 40°46'N / 75°35'W | 40°48'N / 75°31'W | 3.30 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Northampton |
| 40.9 | 1960-07-04 | 2 | 41°20'N / 75°44'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Luzerne | |||
| 41.4 | 1986-07-26 | 2 | 41°36'N / 74°28'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Ulster | |
| 43.4 | 1972-06-09 | 2 | 41°45'N / 74°46'W | 0.30 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Sullivan | |
| 46.6 | 1956-09-06 | 2 | 41°03'N / 74°06'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Bergen | |||
| 47.0 | 1990-10-18 | 3 | 40°29'N / 74°46'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 8 | 2.5M | 0 | Somerset | |
| 47.9 | 1950-07-05 | 2 | 40°35'N / 75°42'W | 40°39'N / 75°28'W | 12.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Lehigh |
| 48.5 | 1961-05-09 | 2 | 41°48'N / 74°47'W | 41°50'N / 74°39'W | 6.80 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Sullivan |
| 49.9 | 1954-04-17 | 2 | 41°40'N / 75°39'W | 2.00 Miles | 3 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Susquehanna | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.