NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Parsonsburg, 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
63 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Parsonsburg, Maryland since 1851, 11 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 40 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 11
- Tropical storms
- 52
- Tornadoes
- 40
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Parsonsburg
The strongest storm to pass near Parsonsburg was an unnamed storm in 1944, a Category 3 hurricane with 112 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1924, whose centre came within 8 miles. The record near Parsonsburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 4 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 7 systems. Of the 63 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Parsonsburg has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 96% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The strongest of the 40 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on April 28, 2002; its path came within 20 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on May 8, 1984, killed 1 person. Of the 40, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on June 30, 2025. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Parsonsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1967, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 239 Maryland cities, 80% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Parsonsburg.
Compare Parsonsburg's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Parsonsburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 10 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 29 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | GastonAug 31 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 15 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 16 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1986 | CharleyAug 18 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 49 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1983 | DeanSep 30 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1967 | DoriaSep 16 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 61 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 10 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1953 | BarbaraAug 14 | 60 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 14 | 71 mi | Category 3 (112 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 6 | 63 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 8 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 30 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 44 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 23 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 32 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormSep 29 | 73 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 25 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormOct 12 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormSep 10 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 18 | 45 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 18 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 2 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 27 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 20 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Parsonsburg: 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 Parsonsburg
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s4
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s3
- 1970s2
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2002 | F3 | 20 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 17 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2019 | EF2 | 16 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 12, 1955 | F2 | 24 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 8, 1984 | F1 | 25 mi | 18 mi | 1 / 14 |
| May 16, 2025 | EF1 | 16 mi | 11.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 2017 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 2002 | F1 | 16 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 1992 | F1 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1990 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 10, 1990 | F1 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 40, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Parsonsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Parsonsburg since 1967, made on 20 separate days. Of these, 19 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 4 days, most recently June 24, 2016. The most recent report is from August 5, 2022. August has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Parsonsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD, 3 miles southwest of Parsonsburg at 48 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 46°F and 28°F. August is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 47.6 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.9 of 47.6 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 63 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (26); a normal September there has highs of 80°F and 4.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 30 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 94 nights a year. Snowfall averages 8.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 47.6 inches is more than at 30 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (73%). Salisbury, 7 miles west, has its own station (Salisbury, MD): 48.0 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Ocean City Inlet, MD, 20 miles east, averaged 74°F in September and 41°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Ocean City tide gauge, 20 miles from Parsonsburg, has risen 2.07 ± 0.14 inches per decade from 1975 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 20.7 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 121 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 46 | 28 | 3.5 | 7 | 2.5 | 42 |
| Feb | 48 | 29 | 3.3 | 6 | 3.4 | 41 |
| Mar | 55 | 35 | 4.2 | 7 | 1.0 | 46 |
| Apr | 66 | 44 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 | 53 |
| May | 74 | 53 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 | 61 |
| Jun | 83 | 63 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Jul | 88 | 68 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Aug | 85 | 66 | 5.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 73 |
| Sep | 80 | 60 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 | 74 |
| Oct | 69 | 48 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 66 |
| Nov | 59 | 38 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 | 57 |
| Dec | 50 | 31 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.9 | 47 |
| Year | 67 | 47 | 47.6 | 78 | 8.0 | 58 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD (48 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Ocean City Inlet, MD, 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Parsonsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 193 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Parsonsburg: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 55 heavy rain events, 18 flash floods, 9 floods and 4 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $763,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 76 mph, on June 13, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 18. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 60 have had fewer than Parsonsburg.
August 26, 2012: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Parsonsburg — $300,000 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
Wicomico County, which includes Parsonsburg, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wicomico County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.1 million a year, the 12th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.3 million (47%), is from hurricanes.
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.