NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chesapeake Beach, 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
46 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 90 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 43
- Tornadoes
- 90
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Chesapeake Beach
The strongest storm to pass near Chesapeake Beach was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 93 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Chesapeake Beach begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 54 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 46 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Chesapeake Beach has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The strongest of the 90 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 28, 2002; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 3 people. Of the 90, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 24. The most recent tornado was on July 31, 2025. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chesapeake Beach. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1993, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Chesapeake Beach.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Chesapeake Beach
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 56 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 23 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 70 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 35 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 18 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 27 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Chesapeake Beach: 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 Chesapeake Beach
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s17
- 2000s20(2 EF3+)
- 1990s24
- 1980s4
- 1970s11
- 1960s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2002 | F4 | 13 mi | 38 mi | 3 / 122 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F3 | 22 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | EF2 | 13 mi | 11.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2017 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.37 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 5, 1995 | F2 | 25 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 13, 1983 | F2 | 17 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1978 | F2 | 4 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 12, 1971 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 5, 2022 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2022 | EF1 | 14 mi | 4.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 90, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chesapeake Beach
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Chesapeake Beach since 1993, made on 26 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 16, 2022. The most recent report is from June 30, 2024. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chesapeake Beach
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mechanicsville 5 NE, MD, 16 miles southwest of Chesapeake Beach at 100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 48.1 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (26.0 of 48.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 46 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (17); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 98 nights a year. Snowfall averages 15.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 48.1 inches is more than at 35 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (85%). North Beach, 3 miles north, has its own station (Upper Marlboro 3 NNW, MD): 45.1 inches a year, 3.0 less than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 85°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Annapolis, MD, 22 miles north, averaged 85°F in July and 42°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Annapolis tide gauge, 22 miles from Chesapeake Beach, has risen 1.52 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1928 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 15.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 92 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 25 | 3.3 | 7 | 5.0 | 42 |
| Feb | 48 | 26 | 3.0 | 6 | 6.2 | 42 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 4.2 | 7 | 1.8 | 50 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.1 | 59 |
| May | 74 | 52 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Jun | 82 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 78 |
| Jul | 85 | 66 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 | 85 |
| Aug | 83 | 64 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 | 84 |
| Sep | 77 | 58 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 | 78 |
| Oct | 66 | 46 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 | 69 |
| Nov | 57 | 36 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 58 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 4.0 | 6 | 2.0 | 47 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 48.1 | 77 | 15.1 | 63 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mechanicsville 5 NE, MD (100 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Annapolis, MD, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Chesapeake Beach
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 269 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chesapeake Beach: 229 thunderstorm wind reports, 28 floods, 11 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 31, 2008. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 22 have had fewer than Chesapeake Beach.
August 1, 2011: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Chesapeake Beach — 2 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Trees were across Chesapeake Beach. A tree fell onto a house and another tree fell onto a car.”
October 8, 2005: flood 8 miles from the centre of Chesapeake Beach — 1 injured.
August 28, 2011: flood 10 miles from the centre of Chesapeake Beach — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding rains forced the closure of sections of Maryland State Routes 565A, 329, 328 and 33. The combination of flooding and tropical storm winds damaged 100 properties and 50 roadways and bridges Roadway damage alone was estimated at $750,000.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chesapeake Beach's ZIP code 20732 have filed 101 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $1.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Isabel in 2003: 58 claims (57% of all) and $1.4 million. 66% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 150 Maryland cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 112 have fewer than Chesapeake Beach.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Isabel2003 | 58 | $1.4 million |
Calvert County, which includes Chesapeake Beach, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 snowstorms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Isaias, on February 4, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Calvert County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Low for coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.0 million a year, the 17th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.7 million (36%), 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 Chesapeake Beach
- Sunderland, MD3 mi
- North Beach, MD3 mi
- Owings, MD5 mi
- Huntingtown, MD6 mi
- Deale, MD8 mi
- Dunkirk, MD8 mi
- Churchton, MD9 mi
- Prince Frederick, MD10 mi
- West River, MD11 mi
- Shady Side, MD12 mi
- Lothian, MD12 mi
- Port Republic, MD13 mi
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