NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Galena, 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
41 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Galena, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 64 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 38
- Tornadoes
- 64
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Galena
The strongest storm to pass near Galena was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 89 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1904, whose centre came within 47 miles. The record near Galena begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 25 miles away. The 1870s and the 2020s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 41 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Galena has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 64 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 11 times; the most recent, on August 4, 2020, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 21, 1983, killed 2 people. Of the 64, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on July 9, 2023. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 81% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Galena. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 13 times since 1994, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Galena.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Galena
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 1 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 29 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 16 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | overhead | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 47 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 59 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 51 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Galena: 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 Galena
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s8
- 2000s6
- 1990s18
- 1980s6
- 1970s11
- 1960s3
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 1983 | F2 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 2 / 9 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 11 mi | 35.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 2, 2002 | F2 | 22 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1994 | F2 | 10 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 27, 1993 | F2 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 29, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Mar 21, 1976 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1971 | F2 | 16 mi | 8.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1959 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1954 | F2 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2023 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 64, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Galena
The Storm Prediction Center has 13 hail reports within 10 miles of Galena since 1994, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 5 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on May 13, 2002. The most recent report is from May 12, 2018. April has the most reports, 5.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Galena
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chestertown, MD, 14 miles southwest of Galena at 40 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 27°F. September is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.1 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 46.1 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 41 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (16); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 4.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 37 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 97 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.7 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.1 inches is more than at 21 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (51%). Earleville, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Aberdeen Phillips Field, MD): 47.2 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Chesapeake City, MD, 13 miles north, averaged 84°F in July and 38°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Chesapeake City tide gauge, 13 miles from Galena, has risen 1.76 ± 0.12 inches per decade from 1972 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 17.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 111 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 | 41 | 27 | 3.3 | 6 | 5.2 | 38 |
| Feb | 44 | 28 | 2.9 | 6 | 7.9 | 39 |
| Mar | 53 | 35 | 4.3 | 8 | 1.7 | 46 |
| Apr | 64 | 45 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 | 57 |
| May | 74 | 55 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 | 67 |
| Jun | 82 | 64 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Jul | 87 | 69 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 | 84 |
| Aug | 85 | 67 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 | 82 |
| Sep | 78 | 60 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Oct | 67 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 | 65 |
| Nov | 56 | 38 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 53 |
| Dec | 45 | 31 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.7 | 42 |
| Year | 65 | 47 | 46.1 | 77 | 16.7 | 60 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chestertown, MD (40 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Chesapeake City, 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 Galena
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 178 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Galena: 137 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods, 11 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $856,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on March 16, 2026. July has had the most flash floods, 5 of 12. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 29 have had fewer than Galena.
June 28, 2007: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Galena — 3 injured.
October 29, 2012: flood 5 miles from the centre of Galena — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “The heavy rain that fell across Kent County not only caused poor drainage flooding, but exacerbated the tidal flooding along the Chesapeake Bay. 93 inches in Worton.”
June 9, 2009: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Galena — $100,000 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
Kent County, which includes Galena, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 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 Kent County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, 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 $8.5 million a year, the 23rd highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.0 million (24%), 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.
Cities near Galena
- Millington, MD7 mi
- Earleville, MD8 mi
- Townsend, DE10 mi
- Clayton, DE11 mi
- Chesapeake City, MD12 mi
- Middletown, DE12 mi
- Smyrna, DE14 mi
- Hartly, DE16 mi
- Chestertown, MD16 mi
- Church Hill, MD17 mi
- Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD18 mi
- North East, MD18 mi
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