Menu
Several strong storms and destructive winds have ripped through the Lehigh Valley this summer. Even bringing one tornado to the area in 2018.
Warnings of tornadoes were issued for parts of the Valley in May. However, one tornado was not confirmed in Wayne County in Pennsylvania. A destructive tornado touched down in Wilkes-Barre’s shopping center in June. History has shown that our region is vulnerable to the destructive forces of nature.
The USGS has provided a brief history of Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania earthquakes on its Pennsylvania page earthquake.
In Pennsylvania, the earliest recorded earthquakes date back to colonial days. According to USGS records, Pennsylvanians might have felt an earthquake at Newbury, Mass. in 1663 and Newbury, Mass. in 1727.
Another one occurred in New York City in Dec. 18, 1737. In 1800, Philadelphia was hit by two powerful earthquakes: one on March 17th and one on November 29th.
The Delaware River was also affected by unusually high swells from the earthquakes of Nov. 11th and 14th, 1840.