Lehigh County, Pennsylvania: hazard history
What federal records show has already happened here: disaster declarations, storms, and flood insurance claims. This is a record of the past. It is not a forecast and not a hazard score.
At a glance
What this means
- The event NOAA recorded most often here is Thunderstorm Wind, with 347 records.
- The costliest single record is Flash Flood in 2021: $20.0M in property damage, in the dollars of that year.
- The deadliest record is Heat in 2012, with 3 deaths.
- FEMA has declared 17 disasters that named this county, most often for hurricane.
- The worst year for flood insurance claims was 1979, with 110 claims.
What this can't tell you
- What happens next. Past events do not set the odds of the next one.
- Anything before 1996 from NOAA. That is when NOAA began recording every event type; earlier files hold only tornado, hail and wind, so they are left out on purpose.
- Today's cost. Damage and payments are in the dollars of the year they happened.
- A flood rate. NFIP counts claims but not how many homes were insured, and many flooded homes carry no flood insurance.
- Earthquakes, wildfire perimeters or radar-detected hail. Those records are not tied to counties.
Federal disaster declarations (FEMA)
FEMA declared 17 disasters that named Lehigh County between 1965 and 2020.
| Incident type | Disasters | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | 5 | 2012 |
| Flood | 3 | 2011 |
| Severe Storm | 3 | 2004 |
| Snowstorm | 3 | 2016 |
| Biological | 2 | 2020 |
| Drought | 1 | 1965 |
Most recent declarations
- DR-4506 2020 · Biological · Covid-19 Pandemic
- EM-3441 2020 · Biological · Covid-19
- DR-4267 2016 · Snowstorm · Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm
- EM-3356 2012 · Hurricane · Hurricane Sandy
- EM-3340 2011 · Flood · Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee
- DR-4025 2011 · Hurricane · Hurricane Irene
- EM-3339 2011 · Hurricane · Hurricane Irene
- EM-3235 2005 · Hurricane · Hurricane Katrina
- DR-1557 2004 · Hurricane · Tropical Depression Ivan
- DR-1555 2004 · Severe Storm · Severe Storms And Flooding Associated With Tropical Depression Frances
Not counted above: 6 statewide declarations, which covered every county in Pennsylvania. A declaration is a decision to send federal help, not a measure of how bad an event was. Records run from 1953. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Storms recorded by NOAA, by type
| Event type | Records | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 347 | 0 | 4 | $1.6M |
| Winter Weather | 206 | 1 | 0 | $75K |
| Flash Flood | 95 | 1 | 2 | $35.3M |
| Strong Wind | 85 | 0 | 0 | $354K |
| Hail | 82 | 0 | 0 | $125K |
| Winter Storm | 61 | 9 | 5 | $525K |
| Heat | 52 | 4 | 50 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 49 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Drought | 43 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Dense Fog | 37 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Snow | 35 | 2 | 0 | $1.0M |
| High Wind | 34 | 4 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Flood | 31 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 29 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Lightning | 27 | 0 | 2 | $1.6M |
| Excessive Heat | 18 | 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Wildfire | 7 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Sleet | 5 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Ice Storm | 4 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 3 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Freezing Fog | 3 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Frost/Freeze | 2 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Tropical Storm | 2 | 0 | 0 | $500K |
| Blizzard | 1 | 1 | 0 | $2.2M |
Records start in 1996. Damage is NOAA's estimate at the time, in nominal dollars, and is often rounded; it is not insurance claims data. A storm that crossed two NOAA zones in this county is recorded, and counted, once per zone. A storm filed against a forecast zone is counted in every county that zone covers, with the whole storm's damage; do not add these figures across counties.
Year by year
NOAA storm event records in Lehigh County each year. The busiest year was 2019, with 69 records.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Records | Deaths | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 33 | 1 | $3.2M |
| 1997 | 35 | 0 | $0 |
| 1998 | 35 | 0 | $0 |
| 1999 | 43 | 2 | $0 |
| 2000 | 34 | 0 | $550K |
| 2001 | 38 | 0 | $10.0M |
| 2002 | 49 | 0 | $0 |
| 2003 | 37 | 1 | $2.3M |
| 2004 | 34 | 0 | $5.0M |
| 2005 | 42 | 1 | $373K |
| 2006 | 37 | 0 | $1.1M |
| 2007 | 55 | 1 | $1.0M |
| 2008 | 55 | 1 | $1.7M |
| 2009 | 38 | 0 | $755K |
| 2010 | 42 | 1 | $679K |
| 2011 | 48 | 3 | $1.2M |
| 2012 | 50 | 6 | $3.2M |
| 2013 | 40 | 0 | $104K |
| 2014 | 50 | 2 | $630K |
| 2015 | 48 | 2 | $808K |
| 2016 | 26 | 2 | $12K |
| 2017 | 43 | 0 | $10 |
| 2018 | 28 | 0 | $0 |
| 2019 | 69 | 0 | $0 |
| 2020 | 65 | 1 | $3K |
| 2021 | 53 | 1 | $20.0M |
| 2022 | 25 | 0 | $0 |
| 2023 | 39 | 0 | $13K |
| 2024 | 39 | 0 | $0 |
| 2025 | 30 | 0 | $10K |
| 2026 | 12 | 3 | $0 |
Years with no record are left out of the table, not shown as zero.
Notable events
Costliest records
- Flash Flood · Sep 1, 2021$20.0MNOAA name: Lehigh County · NOAA record 981389
- Flash Flood · Aug 11, 2001$10.0MNOAA name: Lehigh County · NOAA record 5268673
- Flash Flood · Sep 18, 2004$5.0MNOAA name: Lehigh County · NOAA record 5426508
- High Wind · Oct 29, 2012$3.0MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · 3 deaths · NOAA record 416852
- Blizzard · Jan 7, 1996$2.2MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · 1 death · NOAA record 5546167
Deadliest records
- Heat · Jul 4, 20123 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 403704
- High Wind · Oct 29, 20123 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · $3.0M damage · NOAA record 416852
- Winter Storm · Jan 25, 20263 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 1310019
- Heavy Snow · Oct 29, 20112 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 351721
- Winter Storm · Feb 5, 20142 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 502744
Each line is one NOAA record, linked to its page at NOAA. One large storm can appear more than once if NOAA recorded it in several zones of this county. Dollars are nominal.
Flood insurance claims (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program paid $12.5M on 939 claims in Lehigh County from 1978 to 2024.
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 110 | $575K |
| 1987 | 91 | $1.9M |
| 2020 | 88 | $3.0M |
| 2004 | 80 | $1.9M |
| 2011 | 74 | $730K |
A count of claims, not a rate: NFIP publishes no count of insured homes beside it, and most flood damage is uninsured. Nominal dollars. Records run from 1978 to 2024; claims filed without a county code are not on any county page. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims.
Hazard vulnerability analysis: the probability column for a facility in Lehigh County
A hazard vulnerability analysis rates each hazard for probability, impact, preparedness and response. Probability is the one column the county’s federal record can fill — NCEI storm events from 1996 to 2026 and FEMA declarations naming the county — and this is what it says for a facility here, on the 0–3 scale of the all-hazards structure surveyors expect. The other six columns are the facility’s own judgment about its building, and Calchis leaves them blank.
| Hazard | Prob. | Basis, from the county record |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane / Tropical Storm | 3 | 2 NCEI events over 31 years (0.06/yr). 5 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Severe Thunderstorm | 3 | 456 NCEI events over 31 years (14.71/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Flood, External | 3 | 175 NCEI events over 31 years (5.65/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Snow Fall / Blizzard / Ice Storm | 3 | 315 NCEI events over 31 years (10.16/yr). 3 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Temperature Extremes | 3 | 104 NCEI events over 31 years (3.35/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Drought | 3 | 43 NCEI events over 31 years (1.39/yr). 1 federal disaster declaration naming the county. |
| High Wind (non-convective) | 3 | 119 NCEI events over 31 years (3.84/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tornado | 2 | 7 NCEI events over 31 years (0.23/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Wild Fire | 2 | 7 NCEI events over 31 years (0.23/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Epidemic | 2 | 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Earthquake | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Landslide | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tidal Wave / Tsunami | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Volcano | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Dam Inundation | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
A dash means the record does not speak to that hazard; it is not a zero. Whether a finished document satisfies the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule is the facility’s finding and its surveyor’s. Complete the HVA for a facility in Lehigh County — the technological, human and hazardous-materials rows, the six facility columns, the approval and the printed document — or read the sample analysis on that page first.
How this page was made
- Every figure is counted from public federal records held by Calchis: NOAA NCEI Storm Events, FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, and FEMA NFIP claims. Nothing is modeled or estimated.
- NOAA files some events against a county and others against an NWS forecast zone, and publishes a code for both. Records are counted as Lehigh County by that code — county records by the county's own FIPS code, zone records through the National Weather Service's published list of which counties each zone covers. No name matching is involved. Of 1,272 records, 627 were filed against this county and 645 against a forecast zone covering it. A zone storm is counted in every county its zone covers, and its damage figure is the whole storm's, not this county's share — NOAA does not publish that split. So these figures describe this county; they must not be added up across counties. Left out: 4% of Pennsylvania's NOAA records, which are marine zones or zones NWS does not map to a county.
- Counts last rebuilt from the source records on Sep 15, 2026.
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Recorded history from federal public records. Not a hazard score, a risk score, or a forecast, and not a substitute for professional actuarial or emergency-management assessment. Decision-support intelligence — not a primary alerting or dispatch system. Verify against official sources.