PlainHazard

Maryland extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 24 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,009 extreme cold records in Maryland from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 36 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 4, 2007 extreme cold/wind chill in Montgomery County: 1 death. Maryland ranks 23rd of 51 states and territories by count and 1st of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Maryland, 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
1,0091996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
36average
Deaths
10 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$2.9Mas filed
Busiest year
201693 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 Maryland?

Maryland averages about 36 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 23rd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2016 (93). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maryland records 1039 extreme cold records since 1996, 1st 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 Maryland have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Howard County leads Maryland: 54 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 215.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Allegany County has the most cold records (128 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. Howard County 215.2 (73)
  2. Allegany County 210.8 (128)
  3. Calvert County 150.1 (33)
  4. Washington County 133.3 (62)
  5. Harford County 123.5 (75)
  6. Carroll County 116.2 (52)
  7. Montgomery County 109.5 (76)
  8. Anne Arundel County 106.1 (45)
  9. Kent County 97.5 (27)
  10. Talbot County 96.8 (26)
  11. Frederick County 95.4 (65)
  12. Cecil County 92.4 (32)

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 Maryland?

Maryland's extreme cold records by month. The busiest month is April (284 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 267 · Feb 86 · Mar 38 · Apr 284 · May 46 · Jun 0 · Jul 10 · Aug 0 · Sep 1 · Oct 133 · Nov 76 · Dec 68 (records).

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

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Maryland?

Maryland: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-02-04 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Montgomery Annie Mae Anderson, 81, of Silver Spring, MD., was found dead during the morning of February 5th in a wooded area behind her home. Anderson, who suffered from dementia, apparently wandered away from her home without her coast. Cause of death was exposure to the cold weather. 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 extreme cold records in Maryland

Maryland: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1997-04-10 Frost/FreezeWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $2.1M

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

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Maryland?

Maryland'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: Maryland and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeMarylandUnited StatesMaryland's share
1996-99475,5390.8%
2000s30314,7922.0%
2010s45818,1622.5%
2020-2620115,3291.3%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Maryland

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-07 Cold/Wind ChillSt. Mary's County · forecast zone St. Mary's 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Cold/Wind ChillCharles County · forecast zone Charles 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Central And Southeast Montgomery 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillCalvert County · forecast zone Calvert 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillAnne Arundel County · forecast zone Anne Arundel 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillPrince George's County · forecast zone Prince Georges 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHarford County · forecast zone Southeast Harford 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHarford County · forecast zone Northwest Harford 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHoward County · forecast zone Central And Southeast Howard 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillHoward County · forecast zone Northwest Howard 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Northwest Montgomery 0 0 –
2026-02-07 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMontgomery County · forecast zone Northwest Montgomery 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.

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