NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Denton, 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
53 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Denton, Maryland since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 49
- Tornadoes
- 55
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Denton
The strongest storm to pass near Denton was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1924, whose centre came within 40 miles. The record near Denton begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 56 miles away. The 2000s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 53 systems, 13 have come since 2000. Denton has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 88% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The strongest of the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on April 1, 2023; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F2 on July 21, 1983, killed 2 people. Of the 55, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Denton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 13 times since 1991, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Denton.
Compare Denton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Denton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 10 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 29 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | GastonAug 31 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 15 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 16 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 40 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 62 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 66 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 69 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 27 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 20 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Denton: 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 Denton
By decade
- 2020s11(1 EF3+)
- 2010s7
- 2000s3
- 1990s19
- 1980s4
- 1970s6
- 1960s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2023 | EF3 | 13 mi | 14.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1983 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 2 / 9 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 24 mi | 35.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2019 | EF2 | 24 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | in town | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 1992 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1984 | F2 | 14 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 21, 1976 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1971 | F2 | 18 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 27, 1967 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 8, 1984 | F1 | 15 mi | 18 mi | 1 / 14 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Denton
The Storm Prediction Center has 13 hail reports within 10 miles of Denton since 1991, made on 11 separate days. Of these, 7 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 1, 1993. The most recent report is from May 23, 2016. May has the most reports, 6.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Denton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greenwood 2NE, DE, 14 miles east of Denton at 45 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.3 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (24.9 of 46.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 53 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (18); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.3 inches is more than at 22 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (54%). Preston, 10 miles southwest, has its own station (Royal Oak 2 SSW, MD): 47.7 inches a year, 1.4 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Cambridge, MD, 24 miles southwest, averaged 83°F in July and 39°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Cambridge tide gauge, 24 miles from Denton, has risen 1.59 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1943 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 15.9 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 97 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 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.3 | 39 |
| Feb | 46 | 26 | 2.9 | 6 | 5.9 | 40 |
| Mar | 54 | 33 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.6 | 48 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 | 58 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 | 67 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 | 83 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 | 82 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Oct | 68 | 46 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 65 |
| Nov | 57 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 54 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.8 | 43 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 46.3 | 75 | 12.8 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greenwood 2NE, DE (45 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Cambridge, 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 Denton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 165 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Denton: 124 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 heavy rain events, 11 flash floods, 7 floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on July 12, 2022. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 11. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 22 have had fewer than Denton.
July 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Denton — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “Photo of a camper significantly damaged by a fallen tree and the Martinak State Park Campground. This resulted in one injury to an occupant.”
October 29, 2012: flood 9 miles from the centre of Denton — $1.0 million damage.
August 26, 2012: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Denton — $500,000 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
Caroline County, which includes Denton, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 7 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Caroline County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, coastal flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.5 million a year, the 22nd highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.8 million (38%), is from hurricanes.
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.