Delaware hurricanes and tropical storms

Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 3 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 65 hurricane and tropical storm records in Delaware from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 8.7 a year since 2000. The costliest was the September 18, 2003 tropical storm ($28.5 million in 2025 dollars). Delaware ranks 18th of 34 states and territories by count and 5th of 33 per square mile.

Hurricanes and tropical storms in Delaware, 1996 to 2026

Tropical 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: 651996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 8.7average
Deaths: 00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $30Mas filed
Busiest year: 200321 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 hurricane and tropical storm records common in Delaware?

Delaware averages about 8.7 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 18th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (21). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Delaware records 334 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 5th of 33 states and territories by that measure.

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 hurricane and tropical storm records?

Per square mile, New Castle County leads Delaware: 11 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 25.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Sussex County has the most tropical records (36 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).

New Castle County 25.8 (13)
Kent County 23.9 (16)
Sussex County 21.4 (36)

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 hurricane season in Delaware?

42% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is September (15 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 4 · Feb 3 · Mar 1 · Apr 7 · May 2 · Jun 0 · Jul 5 · Aug 12 · Sep 15 · Oct 10 · Nov 2 · Dec 4 (records).

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

The costliest hurricane and tropical storm records in Delaware

Delaware: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2003-09-18	Hurricane Isabel · Tropical StormKent County · forecast zone Kent One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.		0	0	$28M
2003-02-17	Storm Surge/TideSussex County · forecast zone Delaware Beaches One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's.		0	0	$1.6M

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

Are hurricane and tropical storm 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.

Hurricanes and tropical storms: Delaware and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Delaware	United States	Delaware's share
1996-99	4	1,123	0.36%
2000s	47	4,928	0.95%
2010s	8	2,761	0.29%
2020-26	6	2,697	0.22%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Delaware

The 5 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2003-09-18	Tropical StormKent County · forecast zone Kent	$14M
2003-09-18	Tropical StormSussex County · forecast zone Inland Sussex	$13M
2003-09-18	Tropical StormSussex County · forecast zone Delaware Beaches	$2.0M
2003-02-17	Storm Surge/TideSussex County · forecast zone Inland Sussex	$401K
2003-02-17	Storm Surge/TideSussex County · forecast zone Delaware Beaches	$1.2M

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 hurricane and tropical storm records in Delaware

FEMA has declared 11 disasters in Delaware for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 8 were major disasters, the latest on October 24, 2021.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2021-10-24	DR-4627	Remnants of Hurricane Ida	1
2020-10-02	DR-4566	Tropical Storm Isaias	2
2012-11-16	DR-4090	Hurricane Sandy	3
2012-10-29	EM-3357	Hurricane Sandy	3
2011-09-30	DR-4037	Hurricane Irene	2
2011-08-28	EM-3336	Hurricane Irene	3
2005-09-30	EM-3263	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	3
2003-09-23	DR-1495	Tropical Storm Henri	1
2003-09-20	DR-1494	Hurricane Isabel	3
1999-09-21	DR-1297	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	1
1993-01-15	DR-976	Severe Coastal Storm & Flooding	1

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