NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Friendsville, 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
10 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Friendsville, Maryland since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Friendsville
None of the 10 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Friendsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1896, a tropical storm with 68 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Friendsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1878; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 58 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 2 systems. Of the 10 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site, 99% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Friendsville. The strongest of the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 2, 1998; its path came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 35, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on May 11, 2024. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Friendsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 18 times since 1992, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 90% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Friendsville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Friendsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Friendsville: 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 Friendsville
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s3
- 2000s4
- 1990s6(2 EF3+)
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s3(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1998 | F4 | 24 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 19 mi | 13 mi | 1 / 15 |
| May 19, 1967 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F3 | 19 mi | 29.8 mi | 0 / 19 |
| Aug 25, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.96 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 3 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 16 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1986 | F2 | 21 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 20, 1977 | F2 | 15 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 13, 1971 | F2 | 7 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 3 mi | 3.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 2 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Friendsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 18 hail reports within 10 miles of Friendsville since 1992, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 7, 2023, the most recent report. June has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Friendsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Confluence 1 SW Dam, PA, 10 miles north of Friendsville at 1,490 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 19°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 47.2 inches over 102 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (23.9 of 47.2 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 10 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 61.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 47.2 inches is more than at 27 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (66%). Bruceton Mills, WV, 10 miles west, has its own station (Chalk Hill 2 ENE, PA): 55.6 inches a year, 8.4 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 19 | 3.6 | 9 | 18.3 |
| Feb | 41 | 20 | 3.4 | 8 | 16.9 |
| Mar | 50 | 27 | 3.9 | 9 | 10.3 |
| Apr | 63 | 36 | 4.0 | 9 | 0.9 |
| May | 72 | 47 | 4.9 | 11 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 56 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 60 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 52 | 30 | 3.1 | 7 | 3.7 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 3.5 | 8 | 10.9 |
| Year | 62 | 39 | 47.2 | 102 | 61.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Confluence 1 SW Dam, PA (1,490 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 Friendsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 107 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Friendsville: 82 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 floods, 7 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 19, 2025. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 7. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 6 have had fewer than Friendsville.
April 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Friendsville — 2 injured, $120,000 damage.
July 8, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Friendsville — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
April 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind in Friendsville — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “There were approximately 200 calls for trees, wires, and poles blown down in northern Garrett County, particularly in the Friendsville to Grantsville area. A roof was partially torn off of a house, with power lines and poles laying on the home on First Avenue.”
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 Friendsville's ZIP code 21531 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $39,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 56% 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, 18 have fewer than Friendsville.
Garrett County, which includes Friendsville, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1993, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Garrett County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.8 million a year, the 24th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.8 million (65%), 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 Friendsville
- Accident, MD6 mi
- Bruceton Mills, WV10 mi
- Confluence, PA11 mi
- Grantsville, MD13 mi
- Farmington, PA13 mi
- Albright, WV14 mi
- Terra Alta, WV16 mi
- Swanton, MD17 mi
- Oakland, MD18 mi
- Salisbury, PA18 mi
- Kingwood, WV20 mi
- Hopwood, PA21 mi
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