PlainHazard

Delaware drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 3 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 207 drought records in Delaware from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 21 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 1, 1999 drought ($51.6 million in 2025 dollars). Delaware ranks 40th of 51 states and territories by count and 3rd of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Delaware, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
2071996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
21average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$52Mas filed
Busiest year
200244 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Delaware?

Delaware averages about 21 drought records a year since 2000, 40th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2002 (44). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Delaware records 1062 drought records since 1996, 3rd of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Delaware have the most drought records?

Per square mile, New Castle County leads Delaware: 49 days with a drought record since 1996, 114.9 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Sussex County has the most drought records (105 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. New Castle County 114.9 (49)
  2. Kent County 90.4 (53)
  3. Sussex County 56.6 (105)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Delaware?

Delaware's drought records by month. The busiest month is October (28 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 9 · Feb 9 · Mar 8 · Apr 16 · May 19 · Jun 15 · Jul 22 · Aug 22 · Sep 27 · Oct 28 · Nov 16 · Dec 16 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Delaware

Delaware: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1999-09-01 DroughtSussex County · forecast zone Inland Sussex One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $52M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Delaware?

Delaware's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Delaware and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeDelawareUnited StatesDelaware's share
1996-99595,6001.1%
2000s12618,5710.7%
2010s2231,4410.1%
2020-26030,1470

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Delaware

The 3 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1999-09-01 DroughtNew Castle County · forecast zone New Castle 0 0 $1.8M
1999-09-01 DroughtKent County · forecast zone Kent 0 0 $14M
1999-09-01 DroughtSussex County · forecast zone Inland Sussex 0 0 $36M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for drought records in Delaware

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Delaware for drought, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on August 18, 1965.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1965-08-18DR-207Water Shortage3

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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