NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hampstead, 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
25 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hampstead, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Hampstead
The strongest storm to pass near Hampstead was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 4 miles away. The record near Hampstead begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 68 miles away. The 1890s and the 1950s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 25 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Hampstead has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 19, 1996, came within 11 miles. Of the 86, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2024. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hampstead. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 44 times since 1993, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hampstead.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hampstead
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 26 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 60 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 4 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hampstead: 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 Hampstead
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s20
- 2000s7
- 1990s27(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s3
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 1996 | F3 | 11 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 22, 1983 | F3 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1980 | F3 | 24 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 5, 1952 | F3 | 15 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 2001 | F2 | 11 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 59 |
| Jun 8, 1990 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 23, 1979 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1978 | F2 | in town | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hampstead
The Storm Prediction Center has 44 hail reports within 10 miles of Hampstead since 1993, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 24 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 30, 1999. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 13 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hampstead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Millers 4 NE, MD, 8 miles north of Hampstead at 860 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 24°F. September is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 47.8 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (25.4 of 47.8 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.8 inches is more than at 32 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (78%). Westminster, 9 miles west, has its own station (Hanover 4 SW, PA): 44.1 inches a year, 3.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 24 | 3.6 | 7 | 9.7 |
| Feb | 43 | 25 | 2.9 | 6 | 10.8 |
| Mar | 52 | 32 | 4.1 | 7 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.5 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 56 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 45 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 54 | 36 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 44 | 28 | 4.0 | 7 | 5.6 |
| Year | 63 | 44 | 47.8 | 81 | 34.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Millers 4 NE, MD (860 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 Hampstead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 284 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hampstead: 220 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 flash floods, 27 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $32.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 22, 2019. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 35. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 116 have had fewer than Hampstead.
July 8, 2014: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hampstead — 1 killed, 8 injured, $500 damage.
July 22, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Hampstead — 1 killed.
August 7, 2023: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Hampstead — 2 injured, $20.0 million 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 Hampstead's ZIP code 21074 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $16,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 18% 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, 5 have fewer than Hampstead.
Carroll County, which includes Hampstead, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Carroll County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $32.3 million a year, the 9th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.7 million (55%), 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 Hampstead
- Upperco, MD4 mi
- Manchester, MD5 mi
- Finksburg, MD8 mi
- Westminster, MD9 mi
- Freeland, MD9 mi
- Reisterstown, MD10 mi
- Glenville, PA10 mi
- Parkton, MD10 mi
- Sparks, MD11 mi
- Glen Rock, PA13 mi
- New Freedom, PA13 mi
- Owings Mills, MD14 mi
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