NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dundalk, 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
33 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dundalk, Maryland since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 96 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 31
- Tornadoes
- 96
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Dundalk
The strongest storm to pass near Dundalk was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The record near Dundalk begins with an unnamed storm in 1863; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 61 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 33 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site, 85% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Dundalk. The highest rating among the 96 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 24, 2001, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on November 2, 2018, killed 2 people. Of the 96, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 31, 2025. Dundalk has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 239 Maryland cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 106 times since 1957, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Dundalk has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 239 Maryland cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dundalk
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 49 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 23 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dundalk: 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 Dundalk
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s20
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s35
- 1970s11
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F3 | 17 mi | 17.5 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Jun 9, 1961 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 1, 2021 | EF2 | 18 mi | 11.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 2.37 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 8 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 59 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1973 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF1 | in town | 2.72 mi | 2 / 1 |
| May 16, 2025 | EF1 | in town | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dundalk
The Storm Prediction Center has 106 hail reports within 10 miles of Dundalk since 1957, made on 61 separate days. Of these, 86 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 18, 1970. The most recent report is from June 29, 2025. August has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dundalk
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Md Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD, 6 miles west of Dundalk at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 30°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 44.0 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (23.5 of 44.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 33 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 43 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 52 nights a year. That 44.0 inches is more than at 12 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (29%). Glen Burnie, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Baltimore Wash International Airport, MD): 45.0 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 90°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Baltimore, MD, 4 miles west, averaged 83°F in July and 40°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Baltimore tide gauge, 4 miles from Dundalk, has risen 1.30 ± 0.02 inches per decade from 1902 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 13.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 77 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 44 | 30 | 3.1 | 6 | 41 |
| Feb | 47 | 32 | 2.8 | 6 | 40 |
| Mar | 55 | 39 | 3.9 | 7 | 46 |
| Apr | 67 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 | 56 |
| May | 76 | 58 | 3.4 | 7 | 66 |
| Jun | 85 | 68 | 3.4 | 6 | 75 |
| Jul | 90 | 73 | 4.7 | 7 | 83 |
| Aug | 87 | 71 | 4.4 | 6 | 81 |
| Sep | 80 | 65 | 4.5 | 5 | 77 |
| Oct | 69 | 53 | 3.5 | 5 | 68 |
| Nov | 58 | 43 | 3.0 | 5 | 57 |
| Dec | 48 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 | 45 |
| Year | 67 | 51 | 44.0 | 72 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Md Sci Ctr Baltimore, MD (20 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Baltimore, 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 Dundalk
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 638 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dundalk: 311 thunderstorm wind reports, 222 flash floods, 102 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $6.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on November 17, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 80 of 222. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 224 have had fewer than Dundalk.
August 4, 2022: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Dundalk — 1 killed.
July 18, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Dundalk — 2 injured.
August 17, 1997: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Dundalk — 1 injured, $40,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Dundalk's ZIP code 21222 have filed 525 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $7.9 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Isabel in 2003: 364 claims (69% of all) and $7.3 million. 76% 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, 143 have fewer than Dundalk.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Isabel2003 | 364 | $7.3 million |
Baltimore County, which includes Dundalk, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Baltimore County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $157.1 million a year, the highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $67.3 million (43%), 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 Dundalk
- Essex, MD4 mi
- Baltimore, MD7 mi
- Middle River, MD7 mi
- Nottingham, MD9 mi
- Glen Burnie, MD9 mi
- Linthicum, MD9 mi
- Pasadena, MD10 mi
- White Marsh, MD10 mi
- Perry Hall, MD10 mi
- Towson, MD11 mi
- Catonsville, MD12 mi
- Millersville, MD13 mi
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