PlainHazard

Delaware extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 3 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 110 extreme cold records in Delaware from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 9.5 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 6, 2007 extreme cold/wind chill in New Castle County: 4 deaths and 4 injuries across 4 records. Delaware ranks 47th of 51 states and territories by count and 7th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Delaware, 1996 to 2026

Cold 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
1101996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
9.5average
Deaths
54 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
–as filed
Busiest year
201521 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 extreme cold records common in Delaware?

Delaware averages about 9.5 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 47th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2015 (21). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Delaware records 565 extreme cold records since 1996, 7th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483

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 extreme cold records?

Per square mile, New Castle County leads Delaware: 31 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 72.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Sussex County has the most cold records (51 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 72.7 (31)
  2. Kent County 47.8 (28)
  3. Sussex County 28.8 (51)

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 the cold season in Delaware?

75% of its extreme cold records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (53 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 53 · Feb 29 · Mar 4 · Apr 7 · May 3 · Jun 0 · Jul 8 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 6 (records).

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

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Delaware?

Delaware: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillNew Castle County · forecast zone New Castle One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic air mass that originated near the North Pole invaded Delaware on the 5th and 6th. The combination of the unseasonably cold air and gusty northwest winds produced wind chill factors as low as zero to 10 degrees below zero during the mornings of the 5th and 6th. The lowest temperatures occurred during the ... 4 4 –
2007-01-26 Cold/Wind ChillNew Castle County · forecast zone New Castle The combination of a strong northwest flow around an arctic high pressure system and because this high originated near the North Pole produced the coldest morning in two years across most of Delaware on the 26th. Most low temperatures were around 10F. Wind chill factors were below zero. The extreme cold helped cause ... 1 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

Are extreme cold 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.

Extreme cold: Delaware and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeDelawareUnited StatesDelaware's share
1996-99155,5390.27%
2000s6014,7920.41%
2010s3318,1620.18%
2020-26215,3290.01%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Delaware

The 5 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSussex County · forecast zone Delaware Beaches 1 1 –
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillSussex County · forecast zone Inland Sussex 1 1 –
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillKent County · forecast zone Kent 1 1 –
2007-02-06 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillNew Castle County · forecast zone New Castle 1 1 –
2007-01-26 Cold/Wind ChillNew Castle County · forecast zone New Castle 1 0 –

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.

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