Salem County, New Jersey
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 34033 · population 64,822 · 332 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 887 records for Salem County, New Jersey from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 731 days; the most frequent are winter storm records (190 records). 606 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the June 29, 2012 thunderstorm wind: 2 deaths and $1.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars. FEMA has issued 26 declarations naming the county since 1965, 23 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Remnants of Hurricane Ida” on September 5, 2021.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 887on 731 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 531 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $82Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 4strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 26latest 2021
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Salem County most?
The most frequent records are winter storm records: 190 since 1996. 68% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The rank column places the county among New Jersey's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | 190 | 190 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 14 | $5.9M | 13 of 20 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 162 | 119 | 1975-2026 | 2 | 0 | $1.5M | 15 of 20 |
| High wind and dust storms | 128 | 125 | 1996-2024 | 0 | 1 | $14M | 10 of 20 |
| Heat | 86 | 86 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 12 | – | 7 of 20 |
| Floods | 80 | 71 | 1996-2025 | 2 | 0 | $50M | 15 of 20 |
| Heavy rain | 47 | 46 | 1996-2017 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 20 |
| Drought | 40 | 40 | 1997-2010 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 20 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 38 | 38 | 1999-2026 | 1 | 4 | – | 6 of 20 |
| Extreme cold | 29 | 29 | 1996-2022 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 of 20 |
| Rip currents and high surf | 25 | 25 | 2007-2016 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 20 |
| Hail | 24 | 15 | 1980-2023 | 0 | 0 | $7.2M | 20 of 20 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 23 | 21 | 2003-2020 | 0 | 0 | $656K | 5 of 20 |
| Lightning | 7 | 7 | 2001-2013 | 0 | 0 | $152K | 19 of 20 |
| Tornadoes | 4 | 4 | 1960-1988 | 0 | 0 | $3.7M | 19 of 20 |
| Wildfires | 4 | 4 | 2001-2009 | 0 | 0 | – | 14 of 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Salem County had?
NOAA records 4 tornadoes in Salem County from 1960 to 1988, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 4 tornadoes whose track touched Salem County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 4, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in New Jersey.
Every tornado record filed for Salem County (4)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988-08-17 | Salem County | F2 1.5 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1988-07-20 | Salem County | F1 0.2 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1973-11-28 | Salem County | F0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1960-07-14 | Salem County | F2 2.3 mi x 450 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Salem County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 26, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($30,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindHancocks Bridge, Salem County | 57 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindPittsgrove, Salem County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindPalatine, Salem County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-11 | Thunderstorm WindOlivet, Salem County | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-03 | Winter WeatherSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-27 | Dense FogSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-17 | Dense FogSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Winter StormSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-18 | Winter WeatherSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-06 | Dense FogSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-26 | Winter WeatherSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindPennsville, Salem County A gust front outrunning a cluster of severe thunderstorms entered near Pennsville in western Salem County at approximately 12:19 am EDT on the 30th. This gust front produced damaging wind gusts estimated from 65 to 70 mph as it traversed eastward across the county. Within approximately 20 minutes of the gust front ... | 65 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $1.3M |
| 2014-02-21 | Dense FogSalem County · forecast zone Salem The combination of a relatively moist air mass, light winds preceding a warm front and snow cover produced widespread dense fog in southern New Jersey during the morning and in northern New Jersey during the morning and afternoon of the 21st. The fog contributed to a fatal traffic three vehicle accident involving a ... | 1 | 3 | – | |
| 2011-08-28 | FloodHancocks Bridge, Salem County In Pilesgrove Township, a 20-year-old woman was swept away by flood waters near the Salem River on U.S. Route 40 and drowned while driving her car early on the 28th. The combination of flooding rains and tropical storm force wind gusts closed forty roadways in the county. The collapse of the East Lake Road Dam in ... | 1 | 0 | $13M | |
| 1999-09-16 | Flash FloodCountywide, Salem County Hurricane Floyd battered New Jersey (especially the central and northern thirds) on September 16th and brought with it torrential and in some areas, unprecedented and record breaking rains and damaging winds. The hurricane will go down in history as the greatest natural disaster to ever effect the state of New Jersey ... | 1 | 0 | $8.9M | |
| 2009-01-19 | Winter WeatherSalem County · forecast zone Salem A couple of upper-level disturbances moved near the area on the 19th. One clipped the New Jersey coast with a period of mainly light snow, however a secondary one, which was tied to a main disturbance in the eastern Great Lakes, produced an area of moderate to locally heavy snow across mainly portions of northern New ... | 0 | 8 | – | |
| 2008-06-07 | Excessive HeatSalem County · forecast zone Salem The most oppressive heat wave of the meteorological summer affected New Jersey from June 7th through the 10th. The combination of high temperatures well into the 90s to around 100 and dew point temperatures in the 70s produced apparent temperatures or heat indices values as high as around 100 in northern New Jersey ... | 0 | 8 | – | |
| 2009-01-18 | Winter WeatherSalem County · forecast zone Salem An area of low pressure moved through the Great Lakes region during the 18th. As this system neared the eastern Great Lakes, another storm system developed near the coast of the Mid Altantic during the early evening hours of the 18th. This produced an area of light snow across mainly eastern New Jersey. The storm ... | 0 | 5 | – | |
| 2011-07-21 | Excessive HeatSalem County · forecast zone Salem One of the most oppressive heat waves since mid July 1995 enveloped New Jersey from July 21st through the 24th. The heat was responsible for two deaths and hundreds of heat related injuries. Many locations had high temperatures that reached into the 100s. The most oppressive day was July 22nd when the combination of ... | 0 | 4 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-08-28 | FloodHancocks Bridge, Salem County | 1 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2007-04-15 | FloodPenton, Salem County | 0 | 0 | $10.0M | |
| 2012-10-30 | Coastal FloodSalem County · forecast zone Salem | 0 | 0 | $9.0M | |
| 1999-09-16 | Flash FloodCountywide, Salem County | 1 | 0 | $8.9M | |
| 2008-08-10 | HailDeepwater, Salem County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $7.2M |
| 2011-08-14 | Flash FloodOakwood Beach, Salem County | 0 | 0 | $6.7M | |
| 2008-08-10 | Flash FloodPennsville, Salem County | 0 | 0 | $1.4M | |
| 2012-06-29 | Thunderstorm WindPennsville, Salem County | 65 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $1.3M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: July 14, 1960 (tornado, Salem County); July 20, 1988 (tornado, Salem County); August 17, 1988 (tornado, Salem County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Salem County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 19 | 70 | 70 | 31 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 38 | 39 | 51 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 17 | 68 | 38 | 5 |
| Heat | – | – | – | – | 27 | 34 | 21 | 4 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 4 | 25 | 39 | 12 |
| Heavy rain | – | – | – | – | 23 | 21 | 3 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
68% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 135 · Feb 125 · Mar 73 · Apr 49 · May 38 · Jun 80 · Jul 108 · Aug 70 · Sep 42 · Oct 31 · Nov 46 · Dec 90 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Salem County
FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Salem County: 15 major disasters, 11 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (9) and snowstorm (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-05 | DR-4614 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2021-09-02 | EM-3573 | Hurricane | Remnants of Hurricane Ida |
| 2020-12-11 | DR-4574 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Isaias |
| 2020-03-25 | DR-4488 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3451 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2012-10-30 | DR-4086 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-10-28 | EM-3354 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-07-19 | DR-4070 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds |
| 2011-09-15 | DR-4033 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2011-08-31 | DR-4021 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2011-08-27 | EM-3332 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2010-03-23 | DR-1889 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2010-02-05 | DR-1873 | Snowstorm | Snowstorm |
| 2005-09-19 | EM-3257 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2003-03-20 | EM-3181 | Snowstorm | Snow |
| 2001-09-19 | EM-3169 | Fire | Fires and Explosions |
| 2000-11-01 | EM-3156 | Other | West Nile Virus |
| 1999-09-17 | EM-3148 | Hurricane | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations |
| 1996-01-13 | DR-1088 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 (Severe Snow Storm) |
| 1993-03-17 | EM-3106 | Snowstorm | Severe Blizzard |
| 1992-12-18 | DR-973 | Flood | Coastal Storm, High Tides, Heavy Rain, & Flooding |
| 1980-10-19 | EM-3083 | Drought | Water Shortage |
| 1977-02-08 | DR-528 | Severe Ice Storm | Ice Conditions |
| 1975-07-23 | DR-477 | Flood | Heavy Rains, High Winds, Hail & Tornadoes |
| 1971-09-04 | DR-310 | Flood | Heavy Rains & Flooding |
| 1965-08-18 | DR-205 | Drought | Water Shortage |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Salem County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 80 flood or flash flood records for Salem County from 1996 to 2025, on 71 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Salem County ranks 373rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene | 2011-08-27 | 2 | 1 |
| Hurricane Floyd | 1999-09-16 | 1 | 1 |
| Hurricane Sandy | 2012-10-30 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $9.2 million on 824 claims filed in Salem County; the most in one year was 150 in 2012. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 13 · 1979: 15 · 1980: 73 · 1981: 2 · 1983: 3 · 1984: 23 · 1985: 18 · 1988: 4 · 1989: 85 · 1991: 1 · 1992: 10 · 1993: 2 · 1994: 3 · 1996: 7 · 1997: 1 · 1998: 1 · 1999: 93 · 2000: 12 · 2003: 19 · 2004: 2 · 2005: 9 · 2006: 4 · 2007: 12 · 2008: 25 · 2009: 6 · 2010: 11 · 2011: 110 · 2012: 150 · 2013: 35 · 2014: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2020: 19 · 2021: 26 · 2023: 2 · 2024: 13; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Salem County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Salem County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $40.1 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | $14M | 3.7 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively High | $2.6M | 6.2 a year (modeled) |
| Ice Storm | Relatively High | $870K | 1.1 a year (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Moderate | $279K | 10 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $989K | 7.2 modeled event-days a year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $1.8M | once in about 607 years (modeled) |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | $1.4M | once in about 10 years (modeled) |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | $1.4M | 5.8 modeled event-days a year |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Salem County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in New JerseyEvery New Jersey tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Winter storms in New JerseyThe state's winter storm records, by county, year and month
- The New Jersey recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Salem CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Salem County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis