Delaware severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 3 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,109 severe thunderstorm wind events in Delaware from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 32 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 30, 2025 thunderstorm wind in New Castle County: 1 death and 1 injury across 7 records. Delaware ranks 44th of 52 states and territories by count and 4th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Delaware, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 1,1091955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 32average
- Deaths
- 221 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $10Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2020129 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in Delaware?
Delaware averages about 32 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 44th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2020 (129). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Delaware records 5691 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 4th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, New Castle County leads Delaware: 229 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 537.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, New Castle County has the most thunderstorm wind records (444 since 1955); 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).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in Delaware?
47% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (268 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 7 · Feb 55 · Mar 66 · Apr 91 · May 92 · Jun 253 · Jul 268 · Aug 187 · Sep 45 · Oct 18 · Nov 23 · Dec 4 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Delaware?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindSilverbrook, New Castle County One storm episode: 7 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold front moved into a warm and unstable airmass, producing strong to severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts. A storm along the sea-breeze also produced a brief tornado. | 50 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 1995-07-16 | Thunderstorm WindNew Castle County The oppressive heat and humidity during the day on the 15th set the stage for a complex of severe thunderstorms the early morning of the 16th. A wide swath of downed trees and power lines occurred in northern parts of the county, mostly to the north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canals. A 52-year-old male in the ... | 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.
The costliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Delaware
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindDover, Kent County | 0 | 0 | $2.7M | |
| 1995-11-11 | Thunderstorm WindDewey Beach, Sussex County | 0 | 0 | $1.9M | |
| 2009-08-09 | Thunderstorm WindNewark, New Castle County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $688K |
| 2009-06-13 | Thunderstorm WindVernon, Kent County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $550K |
| 1994-07-27 | Thunderstorm WindFelton, Kent County | 0 | 0 | $398K | |
| 1999-02-12 | Thunderstorm WindClayton, Kent County | 0 | 1 | $354K | |
| 2009-06-02 | Thunderstorm WindWilmington Airport, New Castle County | 66 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $344K |
| 2008-06-04 | Thunderstorm WindGeorgetown, Sussex County | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $343K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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.
| Decade | Delaware | United States | Delaware's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 4 | 3,482 | 0.11% |
| 1960s | 19 | 10,124 | 0.19% |
| 1970s | 54 | 18,714 | 0.29% |
| 1980s | 65 | 39,604 | 0.16% |
| 1990s | 99 | 85,554 | 0.12% |
| 2000s | 205 | 129,990 | 0.16% |
| 2010s | 305 | 161,286 | 0.19% |
| 2020-26 | 358 | 126,815 | 0.28% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Delaware
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindDagsboro, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-27 | Thunderstorm WindDagsboro, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindRedden, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindRedden, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindVernon, Kent County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-27 | Thunderstorm WindHartly, Kent County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | Thunderstorm WindChestnut Knoll, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | Thunderstorm WindSmyrna, Kent County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-01 | Thunderstorm WindClayton, Kent County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $40K |
| 2026-04-01 | Thunderstorm WindClayton, Kent County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindDewey Beach, Sussex County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Thunderstorm WindGeorgetown Airport, Sussex County | 53 kt wind | 0 | 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.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in Delaware
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 4 declarations in Delaware, 4 of them major disasters; the latest on July 5, 2006.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-05 | DR-1654 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2004-11-15 | DR-1572 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding From the Remnants of | 1 |
| 1998-02-13 | DR-1205 | Severe Winter Storms, High Winds, and Flooding | 1 |
| 1994-03-16 | DR-1017 | Severe Ice Storms and Flooding | 2 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- New Castle County: the county's whole recordThe Delaware county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in DelawareTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- High wind and dust storms in Delaware722 records
- Winter storms in Delaware638 records
- Floods in Delaware615 records