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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Middletown, DE

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

41 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Middletown, Delaware since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
38

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
75

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

3 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Middletown

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Middletown, Delaware, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 119 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 959 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2967 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 48 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1069 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 869 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3020 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2867 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 628 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 254 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
2004JeanneSep 2971 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1999FloydSep 1667 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1326 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 269 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2847 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1563 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3047 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1842 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1355 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 148 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 347 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 158 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1914 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 240 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3050 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1771 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 435 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1545 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1649 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1671 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 124 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2361 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2946 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1138 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2356 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2354 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 441 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2932 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2630 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1933 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2845 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Middletown: 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 Middletown

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s5
  • 2000s8
  • 1990s15(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s10
  • 1970s18
  • 1960s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Middletown, Delaware
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 27, 1994F318 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F315 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Jul 21, 1983F221 mi1 mi2 / 9
Sep 5, 1979F220 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Sep 1, 2021EF225 mi5.92 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF2in town35.78 mi0 / 0
Sep 28, 2004F215 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 2, 2002F220 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 1994F221 mi4 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1993F24 mi10 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1990F222 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 1989F221 mi2 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Middletown while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Delaware