NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Boyds, MD
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Boyds, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 115 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 115
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Boyds
The strongest storm to pass near Boyds was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 8 miles. The record near Boyds begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 65 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 25 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Boyds has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 115 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on September 24, 2001, came within 24 miles. Of the 115, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2024. Boyds has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 239 Maryland cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Boyds has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 239 Maryland cities.
Compare Boyds's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Boyds
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 8 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 38 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 12 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Boyds: 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 Boyds
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s26
- 2000s25(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22
- 1980s6
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F3 | 24 mi | 17.5 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F3 | 14 mi | 17.9 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Apr 1, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 9.8 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 25 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF2 | 13 mi | 5.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 19 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 5 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1996 | F2 | 25 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 115, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Boyds
The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Boyds since 1965, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 10, 1975. The most recent report is from May 3, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 20 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Boyds
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Damascus 3 SSW, MD, 7 miles northeast of Boyds at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 48.0 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.7 of 48.0 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 31.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 48.0 inches is more than at 33 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (80%). Poolesville, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (WFO Sterling, VA): 45.1 inches a year, 2.9 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 25 | 3.4 | 6 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 43 | 26 | 3.0 | 6 | 11.1 |
| Mar | 52 | 33 | 4.0 | 7 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 64 | 43 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.2 |
| May | 73 | 53 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 62 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 66 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 58 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 47 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 53 | 36 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 44 | 30 | 3.9 | 7 | 5.1 |
| Year | 63 | 45 | 48.0 | 80 | 31.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Damascus 3 SSW, MD (700 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Boyds
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 494 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Boyds: 382 thunderstorm wind reports, 53 floods, 52 flash floods and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $6.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 25, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 20 of 52. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 141 have had fewer than Boyds.
June 23, 2015: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Boyds — 1 killed, $3,000 damage.
June 13, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Boyds — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
August 10, 2021: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Boyds — $2.5 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Montgomery County, which includes Boyds, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 5 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and tornadoes; Very Low for coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $126.4 million a year, the 3rd highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $71.0 million (56%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Boyds
- Germantown, MD3 mi
- Clarksburg, MD5 mi
- Dickerson, MD5 mi
- Poolesville, MD6 mi
- Montgomery Village, MD7 mi
- Gaithersburg, MD7 mi
- Damascus, MD8 mi
- Derwood, MD10 mi
- Ijamsville, MD10 mi
- Adamstown, MD11 mi
- Monrovia, MD12 mi
- Sterling, VA13 mi
All Maryland cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Boyds with another place →