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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Newark, DE

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

37 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Newark, Delaware since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
2

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
35

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
79

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

3 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Newark

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Newark, Delaware, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 17 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 969 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 42 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1072 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 309 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2872 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 637 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 252 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1674 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1334 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2610 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1971DoriaAug 2853 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1571 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3055 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1831 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1358 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 137 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 358 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 158 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 192 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2473 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 235 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3056 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 425 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1554 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1647 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 2
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 118 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2369 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2937 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1147 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2364 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2347 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 449 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2940 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2638 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1939 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2852 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s10(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s7
  • 2000s7
  • 1990s19(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s10
  • 1970s13
  • 1960s8(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s5(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Newark, Delaware
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Mar 22, 1955F322 mi9.6 mi1 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF325 mi12.37 mi0 / 2
Jul 27, 1994F36 mi4 mi0 / 11
Apr 28, 1961F38 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Sep 5, 1979F28 mi4.1 mi1 / 4
Sep 1, 2021EF215 mi5.92 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF26 mi35.78 mi0 / 0
Oct 31, 2019EF221 mi0.47 mi0 / 2
Sep 28, 2004F27 mi5 mi0 / 0
May 2, 2002F213 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 27, 1993F28 mi10 mi0 / 0
Aug 28, 1992F224 mi2 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 79, 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 Newark 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