Maryland severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 24 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 8,467 severe thunderstorm wind events in Maryland from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 267 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the June 26, 2009 thunderstorm wind in Montgomery County: 2 deaths and 6 injuries. Maryland ranks 27th of 52 states and territories by count and 1st of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in Maryland, 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
- 8,4671955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 267average
- Deaths
- 19162 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $162Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2019552 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 Maryland?
Maryland averages about 267 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 27th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (552). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Maryland records 8719 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 1st 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 Maryland have the most severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Calvert County leads Maryland: 164 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 769.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Montgomery County has the most thunderstorm wind records (891 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 Maryland?
53% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (2,294 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 44 · Feb 127 · Mar 376 · Apr 480 · May 947 · Jun 2,153 · Jul 2,294 · Aug 1,351 · Sep 376 · Oct 107 · Nov 189 · Dec 23 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in Maryland?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindFriendship Hgts, Montgomery County Trees were down at Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway. There were two indirect fatalities and six injuries due to a tree falling on a van. | 50 kt wind | 2 | 6 | – |
| 1990-03-17 | Thunderstorm WindAnne Arundel County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2026-06-11 | Thunderstorm WindLayhill, Montgomery County One storm episode: 27 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. Lines and clusters of severe thunderstorms ahead of a cold front approaching from the Ohio River Valley resulted in widely scattered damaging wind gusts, a few of which were considerable mainly during the mid to late afternoon and early evening hours. In many cases east of the Blue Ridge and Catoctin Monutains, severe ... | 52 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $77K |
| 2004-09-18 | Thunderstorm WindCharlestown, Cecil County Severe thunderstorms caused wind damage in Charlestown and Colora. Two people were killed in Colora after a large tree fell onto the house they were sleeping in. About six large trees were uprooted in Colora. Two other homes were damaged by fallen trees. Several large tree limbs were also torn away. One shed was ... | 61 kt wind | 2 | 0 | – |
| 2014-07-08 | Thunderstorm WindAlesia, Carroll County Tree branches fell at a Youth Campsite. | 52 kt wind | 1 | 8 | $623 |
| 2017-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindTimonium, Baltimore County A tree fell onto a vehicle near Pot Spring Road and Deer Fox Lane. The tree falling onto the vehicle resulted in one fatality and three injuries. | 50 kt wind | 1 | 3 | – |
| 2022-07-12 | Thunderstorm WindDenton, Caroline County Photo of a camper significantly damaged by a fallen tree and the Martinak State Park Campground. This resulted in one injury to an occupant. Time estimated from radar. This was near the beginning of a macroburst which continued for about 18 miles east into Delaware with estimated peak winds of 110 mph. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 1 | – |
| 1986-10-01 | Thunderstorm WindBaltimore County | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-06-23 | Thunderstorm WindPoolesville, Montgomery County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold front moved south through the region. Southerly flow ahead of the front led to an unstable air mass, which combined with steepening mid level lapse rates and increased sheer led to numerous severe thunderstorms being triggered right ahead of the front. | 52 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $14K |
| 2024-06-30 | Thunderstorm WindMayfield, Anne Arundel County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Several bands and clusters of thunderstorms produced scattered instances of wind damage mainly near and east of Interstate 95 in Maryland and northern Virginia. There were a few instances of considerable wind damage in Maryland. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $517K |
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 Maryland
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-07 | Thunderstorm WindCranberry Station, Carroll County One storm episode: 19 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 78 kt wind | 0 | 4 | $37M |
| 2023-07-29 | Thunderstorm WindTwin Brook, Montgomery County One storm episode: 8 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 74 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $25M |
| 2006-07-02 | Thunderstorm WindSilver Spg, Montgomery County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 60 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $9.5M |
| 2023-07-28 | Thunderstorm WindSt Georges, Baltimore County One storm episode: 5 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5.9M |
| 2025-04-19 | Thunderstorm WindFriendsville, Garrett County One storm episode: 30 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 78 kt wind | 0 | 4 | $4.3M |
| 2022-07-12 | Thunderstorm WindBranchville, Prince George's County One storm episode: 11 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 80 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.7M |
| 1994-11-01 | Thunderstorm WindWestminster, Carroll County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (3, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 0 | $3.1M | |
| 1996-06-24 | Thunderstorm WindOxon Hill, Prince George's County | 0 | 0 | $2.4M |
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 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.
| Decade | Maryland | United States | Maryland's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 32 | 3,482 | 0.9% |
| 1960s | 88 | 10,124 | 0.9% |
| 1970s | 180 | 18,714 | 1.0% |
| 1980s | 280 | 39,604 | 0.7% |
| 1990s | 712 | 85,554 | 0.8% |
| 2000s | 1,576 | 129,990 | 1.2% |
| 2010s | 3,049 | 161,286 | 1.9% |
| 2020-26 | 2,550 | 126,815 | 2.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in Maryland
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindIronsides, Charles County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindFederalsburg, Caroline County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindMatthews, Talbot County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindEaston, Talbot County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindOxford, Talbot County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindHillsboro, Caroline County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindQueen Anne, Talbot County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindSkipton, Talbot County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindWye Mills, Talbot County | 87 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindBryantown, Queen Anne's County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindNormans Is, Queen Anne's County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-22 | Thunderstorm WindCabin Creek, Dorchester County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
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 Maryland
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 8 declarations in Maryland, 7 of them major disasters; the latest on June 25, 2018.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06-25 | DR-4374 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2014-04-10 | DR-4170 | Snowstorm | 3 |
| 2012-08-02 | DR-4075 | Severe Storms and Straight-Line Winds | 6 |
| 2006-07-02 | DR-1652 | Severe Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 3 |
| 2003-03-14 | EM-3179 | Snow | 20 |
| 2000-04-10 | DR-1324 | Severe Winter Storm | 15 |
| 1989-08-28 | DR-839 | Severe Storms & High Winds | 1 |
| 1979-09-14 | DR-601 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | 5 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Calvert County: the county's whole recordThe Maryland 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 MarylandTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Winter storms in Maryland4,573 records
- Floods in Maryland3,545 records
- Hail in Maryland1,580 records