How Likely Is a Tornado in Cambria County, PA?
Cambria County's tornado history, by the numbers
Cambria County has recorded 22 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 3.5 years - our Moderate band. Put another way: Cambria County sees more tornado activity than 55% of US counties. Within Pennsylvania alone, Cambria County ranks 12 of 67 counties for tornado frequency.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
18 weak and 4 significant tornadoes make up Cambria County's 22-track record - none violent. NOAA has never logged an EF4 or EF5 crossing this county.
The dollar figure Cambria County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. Pennsylvania has no state rebate program confirmed here; FEMA's underlying 75% cost-share exists nationwide, but applying through a state program is what usually makes it real, and none was found for Pennsylvania this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Cambria County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across Pennsylvania are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Cambria County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 688 square miles, so a single touch counts the same as one in a county a fraction of that size. Weaker pre-1990s tornadoes are also documented as undercounted in NOAA's own record. Cambria County has about 130,108 residents.