NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grantsville, 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
14 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Grantsville, Maryland since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 30 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 13
- Tornadoes
- 30
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Grantsville
The strongest storm to pass near Grantsville was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 74 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Grantsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 52 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 3 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 14 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site, 97% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Grantsville. The strongest of the 30 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 2, 1998; its path came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 31, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 30, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on August 31, 2024. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Grantsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1998, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Grantsville.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grantsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2003 | IsabelSep 19 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1979 | FredericSep 14 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormOct 1 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 63 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 13 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Grantsville: 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 Grantsville
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2000s4
- 1990s9(2 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s5
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1998 | F4 | 13 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 7 mi | 13 mi | 1 / 15 |
| May 19, 1967 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 1.96 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 21 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1998 | F2 | 8 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1977 | F2 | 24 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 13, 1971 | F2 | 20 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 5, 1969 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 8 mi | 3.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 2024 | EF1 | 13 mi | 3.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 30, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grantsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Grantsville since 1998. Of these, 7 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 and July have the most reports, 4 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grantsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Meyersdale 2 SSW, PA, 10 miles northeast of Grantsville at 2,000 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February and November the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 41.8 inches over 92 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (21.4 of 41.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 14 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.8 inches is more than at 6 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (15%). Accident, 8 miles west, has its own station (Confluence 1 SW Dam, PA): 47.2 inches a year, 5.4 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 17 | 3.0 | 8 | 12.9 |
| Feb | 38 | 17 | 2.7 | 7 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 46 | 24 | 3.7 | 8 | 9.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 33 | 3.5 | 9 | 1.1 |
| May | 68 | 43 | 4.4 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 52 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 56 | 4.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 54 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 49 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 2.8 |
| Dec | 39 | 21 | 3.1 | 7 | 6.9 |
| Year | 58 | 36 | 41.8 | 92 | 45.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Meyersdale 2 SSW, PA (2,000 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 Grantsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 64 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grantsville: 43 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 floods, 8 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 19, 2025. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 8. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 10 have had fewer than Grantsville.
April 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Grantsville — 2 injured, $120,000 damage.
April 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Grantsville — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A wind gust of 54 knots (62 MPH) was measured by a mesonet on I-68 National Freeway at US-219 Chestnut Ridge Road (MD014). Thunderstorm winds caused a partial collapse of the salt dome at the Maryland State Highway Administration's Keyser's Ridge facility.”
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 Grantsville's ZIP code 21536 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $104,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 50% 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, 8 have fewer than Grantsville.
Garrett County, which includes Grantsville, 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 Grantsville
- Salisbury, PA6 mi
- Accident, MD8 mi
- Frostburg, MD13 mi
- Meyersdale, PA13 mi
- Friendsville, MD13 mi
- Swanton, MD13 mi
- Confluence, PA14 mi
- Westernport, MD15 mi
- Rockwood, PA18 mi
- Keyser, WV20 mi
- Cumberland, MD21 mi
- Ridgeley, WV22 mi
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