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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit New Carrollton, 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

34 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of New Carrollton, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 111 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
31

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
111

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

3 deaths in all

What the records show for New Carrollton

The strongest storm to pass near New Carrollton was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 16 miles away. The record near New Carrollton begins with an unnamed storm in 1872; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 53 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 34 systems, 5 have come since 2000. New Carrollton has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 111 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on September 24, 2001, came within 4 miles. Of the 111, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on July 31, 2025. New Carrollton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 239 Maryland cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 110 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). New Carrollton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 239 Maryland cities.

Compare New Carrollton's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near New Carrollton

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of New Carrollton, Maryland, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2953 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 437 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
2012SandyOct 3071 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 657 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 210 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1996BerthaJul 1360 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2660 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1963Unnamed 1963 stormJun 364 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1834 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1317 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 4
1954HazelOct 1534 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 133 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2949 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1823 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 247 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 111 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1922 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2415 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 29 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 2047 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 5
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 417 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1574 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1272 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 116 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2310 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1463 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2925 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1161 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1359 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2316 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 468 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 3
1876Unnamed 1876 stormSep 1834 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2967 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2663 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s14
  • 2010s26
  • 2000s16(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s31
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s12(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near New Carrollton, Maryland
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 24, 2001F34 mi17.5 mi2 / 55
Sep 5, 1979F315 mi17.9 mi1 / 6
Apr 1, 1973F316 mi9.8 mi0 / 37
Jun 9, 1961F323 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF217 mi11.43 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 1996F220 mi20 mi0 / 1
Oct 5, 1995F210 mi2.5 mi0 / 3
Jul 27, 1994F221 mi7 mi0 / 0
Oct 13, 1983F217 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1978F221 mi6.9 mi0 / 0
Jun 20, 1978F222 mi1 mi0 / 0
Sep 12, 1971F25 mi3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 111, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in New Carrollton

The Storm Prediction Center has 110 hail reports within 10 miles of New Carrollton since 1968, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 69 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 10, 1975. The most recent report is from April 15, 2024. July has the most reports, 29.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in New Carrollton since 2019 →

Weather by month in New Carrollton

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Natl Arboretum Dc, MD, 5 miles southwest of New Carrollton at 50 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 45°F and 28°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 45.6 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (24.4 of 45.6 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 34 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (12); a normal October there has highs of 70°F and 4.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 47 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 84 nights a year. Snowfall averages 9.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.6 inches is more than at 20 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (49%). Lanham, 2 miles northeast, has its own station (Beltsville, MD): 44.0 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 90°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Washington, DC, 9 miles southwest, averaged 84°F in July and 39°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to August. Sea level at the Washington tide gauge, 9 miles from New Carrollton, has risen 1.40 ± 0.05 inches per decade from 1924 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 14.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 84 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Natl Arboretum Dc, MD
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan45283.064.739
Feb48302.852.341
Mar56374.071.450
Apr68463.470.060
May77574.380.069
Jun85664.680.077
Jul90714.670.084
Aug88693.770.082
Sep82624.160.076
Oct70494.250.066
Nov58393.250.054
Dec49323.771.342
Year684945.6799.762

Averages for 1991–2020 at Natl Arboretum Dc, MD (50 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Washington, DC, 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.

Maryland weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near New Carrollton

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 1,048 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of New Carrollton: 685 thunderstorm wind reports, 207 flash floods, 151 floods and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 42, and the NWS estimated $22.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 22, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 67 of 207. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 220 have had fewer than New Carrollton.

  • August 4, 2022: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of New Carrollton — 3 killed.

  • August 3, 2002: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of New Carrollton — 1 killed, 2 injured, $30,000 damage.

  • April 19, 2002: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of New Carrollton — 1 killed.

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 New Carrollton's ZIP code 20784 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $67,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 9% 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 New Carrollton.

Prince George's County, which includes New Carrollton, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 5 snowstorms, 4 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Prince George's County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and hail; Relatively Low for coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $121.8 million a year, the 4th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $65.1 million (54%), 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 New Carrollton