NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Knoxville, 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
24 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Knoxville, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 21
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Knoxville
The strongest storm to pass near Knoxville was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 12 miles. The record near Knoxville begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 50 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 24 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Knoxville has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 10 times; the most recent, on September 17, 2004, came within 17 miles. Of the 99, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2024. Knoxville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 239 Maryland cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 59 times since 1975, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Knoxville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 239 Maryland cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Knoxville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 12 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 19 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 33 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | overhead | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Knoxville: 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 Knoxville
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s13
- 2000s23
- 1990s26
- 1980s3
- 1970s7
- 1960s7
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 4 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 17 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 2 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F2 | 8 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 3, 1980 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 31, 1978 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1975 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | EF1 | 23 mi | 4.76 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF1 | 25 mi | 15.16 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Knoxville
The Storm Prediction Center has 59 hail reports within 10 miles of Knoxville since 1975, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently June 21, 2016. The most recent report is from March 16, 2025. July has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Knoxville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sharpsburg 5 S, MD, 5 miles northwest of Knoxville at 400 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.4 inches; the year adds up to 43.6 inches. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 43.6 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 24 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal October there has highs of 67°F and 3.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 25 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. That 43.6 inches is more than at 10 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (24%). Lovettsville, VA, 6 miles south, has its own station (Purcellville, VA): 44.0 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 21 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 44 | 23 | 2.4 |
| Mar | 53 | 29 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 65 | 39 | 3.6 |
| May | 74 | 49 | 4.6 |
| Jun | 82 | 58 | 4.2 |
| Jul | 86 | 62 | 4.3 |
| Aug | 85 | 61 | 3.3 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 4.4 |
| Oct | 67 | 42 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 56 | 32 | 3.1 |
| Dec | 45 | 25 | 3.5 |
| Year | 65 | 41 | 43.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sharpsburg 5 S, MD (400 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 Knoxville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 404 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Knoxville: 326 thunderstorm wind reports, 64 floods, 12 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $7.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 4, 2008. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 12. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 29 have had fewer than Knoxville.
August 25, 2007: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Knoxville — 1 injured.
NWS: “Washington County Emergency Management and local newspapers reported that a woman was injured when struck by lightning while tubing on the C&O Canal in southern Washington County. A 27 year old woman was struck by lightning while in the water near the intersection of Keep Tryst Road at Weverton Road.”
July 22, 2017: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Knoxville — 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree fell onto a car along Route 340 at Potomac River Crossing. An injury occurred due to the fallen tree.”
May 15, 2018: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Knoxville — $4.6 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 Knoxville's ZIP code 21758 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $86,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 43% 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, 13 have fewer than Knoxville.
Frederick County, which includes Knoxville, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 floods, 5 snowstorms, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Frederick County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $49.9 million a year, the 8th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $32.2 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 Knoxville
- Brunswick, MD3 mi
- Lovettsville, VA6 mi
- Jefferson, MD6 mi
- Harpers Ferry, WV8 mi
- Point Of Rocks, MD8 mi
- Keedysville, MD8 mi
- Sharpsburg, MD9 mi
- Middletown, MD9 mi
- Shenandoah Junction, WV9 mi
- Shepherdstown, WV10 mi
- Waterford, VA11 mi
- Adamstown, MD11 mi
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