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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bear, DE

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

39 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bear, Delaware since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 72 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
37

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
72

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bear

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bear, Delaware, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 111 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 965 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2975 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 45 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1070 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 874 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3012 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2870 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 634 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 253 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1671 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1331 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2611 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2851 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1568 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3051 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1835 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1358 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 141 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 354 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 159 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 197 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2475 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 237 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3053 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 429 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1551 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1647 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 120 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2366 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2940 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1144 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2361 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2350 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 446 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2937 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2635 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1937 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2849 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bear: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bear

By decade

  • 2020s9(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s6
  • 2000s7
  • 1990s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s11
  • 1970s14
  • 1960s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Bear, Delaware
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 1, 2021EF325 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 27, 1994F310 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F39 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Sep 5, 1979F212 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Sep 1, 2021EF219 mi5.92 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF24 mi35.78 mi0 / 0
Oct 31, 2019EF224 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
Sep 28, 2004F28 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 2, 2002F215 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1993F24 mi10 mi0 / 0
Jul 17, 1992F221 mi4 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1990F214 mi1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 72, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Bear while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Delaware