Butler County tornado history

28 tornadoes touched Butler County, Pennsylvania between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.4 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (May 31, 1985). Tornadoes here killed 9 and injured 122 people.

28tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

9killed · 122 injured

39 milongest path · 1985

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016

(E)F18

(E)F23

(E)F31

(E)F40

(E)F50

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: July.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
May 31, 1985	F3	39 mi	243 yd	120	9
Jun 1, 1954	F2	3 mi	150 yd	0	0
Apr 28, 1981	F2	0.5 mi	10 yd	0	0
Jul 20, 1981	F2	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Apr 28, 2002	F1	7 mi	50 yd	0	0
Oct 21, 2021	EF1	3.2 mi	110 yd	0	0
Jul 29, 1994	F1	3 mi	83 yd	0	0
Aug 30, 1970	F1	1.5 mi	300 yd	0	0
Jun 16, 2019	EF1	1.5 mi	400 yd	0	0
Jun 16, 1978	F1	0.1 mi	10 yd	1	0
Jun 27, 1978	F1	0.1 mi	10 yd	1	0
Sep 6, 1990	F1	0.1 mi	40 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
May 21, 2025	EF0	0.4 mi	160 yd
May 21, 2025	EF0	0.2 mi	210 yd
Oct 21, 2021	EF1	3.2 mi	110 yd
Oct 21, 2021	EF0	8.7 mi	300 yd
Jun 16, 2019	EF1	1.5 mi	400 yd
Jul 10, 2017	EF0	3.2 mi	75 yd
May 1, 2017	EF0	2.9 mi	50 yd
May 1, 2017	EF0	0.4 mi	50 yd
Aug 25, 2016	EF0	2.1 mi	350 yd
Aug 10, 2015	EF0	0.6 mi	60 yd
Jun 27, 2015	EF0	1.8 mi	50 yd
Jul 22, 2008	EF0	0.1 mi	25 yd

Deadliest: May 31, 1985, F3, 9 killed.

Nearby counties

Lawrence County, PA12 Armstrong County, PA11 Beaver County, PA24 Allegheny County, PA28 Mercer County, PA24 Clarion County, PA15 Venango County, PA13 Hancock County, WV1

Questions

How many tornadoes has Butler County, Pennsylvania had?

28 tornadoes touched Butler County, Pennsylvania between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.4 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Butler County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on May 31, 1985, with a 39-mile path and 9 deaths.

When is tornado season in Butler County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in July (9 of 28). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).