Tornado Risk in Philadelphia, PA
Risk Level: Very High — Score 7/10
Live Tornado alert status near Philadelphia
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Live tornado map around Philadelphia
Shows tornado warnings and events that are active right now, refreshed through the day. When none are active, the map is empty by design.
Key Risk Factors
- FEMA rates Philadelphia's county as Relatively High risk
- Estimated annual loss of $21M from this hazard type
- 32 tornadoes within 50 km since January 2015 (6 rated EF2 or stronger; 2026 figures provisional)
- 1 tornado within 50 km in the 12 months to Sep 30, 2026 (2026 figures provisional)
- Strongest within 50 km: EF3 on September 1, 2021
Peak season: April-June
Last significant event: EF3 tornado on September 1, 2021, closest point 16 km from the city centre (2 injuries)
Highest Risk Cities for Tornados
How Philadelphia Compares
Strongest Tornadoes Near Philadelphia
32 tornadoes touched down within 50 km of Philadelphia between January 2015 and September 30, 2026 (6 rated EF2 or stronger), according to NWS and SPC tornado records. 2026 figures are provisional until SPC publishes its final 2026 tornado file, and September 2026 is preliminary while NWS damage surveys are completed. The 5 strongest are listed below; distances run from the city centre to the closest point of each tornado's path (start to end point).
EF3 tornado, 12.4-mile path, closest point 15 km from the Philadelphia city centre
September 1, 2021 — EF3
2 injuries
EF3 tornado, 3.4-mile path, closest point 24 km from the Philadelphia city centre
July 29, 2021 — EF3
No deaths or injuries recorded
EF2 tornado, 20.8-mile path, closest point 23 km from the Philadelphia city centre
August 4, 2020 — EF2
18 injuries
EF2 tornado, 8.3-mile path, closest point 18 km from the Philadelphia city centre
September 1, 2021 — EF2
1 death, 2 injuries
EF2 tornado, 0.5-mile path, closest point 30 km from the Philadelphia city centre
October 31, 2019 — EF2
2 injuries
Tornado Preparedness Tips
- 1.Identify a safe room or storm shelter in your home or building
- 2.Practice tornado drills — get low, cover your head, stay away from windows
- 3.Have a NOAA Weather Radio for tornado watch and warning alerts
- 4.Secure outdoor objects that could become projectiles in high winds
- 5.Know the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning
Related Pages
How this data is built
Philadelphia, PA tornado risk combines Historical Event Intelligence with authoritative hazard modeling from the Geospatial Intelligence Layers catalog. Live tornado monitoring is available through the Event Intelligence API and the DisasterAWARE Platform.
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The data behind this page
Every score and event here comes from DisasterAWARE's hazard database — available as downloadable historical datasets and a real-time API.
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