NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sandy Spring, 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
28 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sandy Spring, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 127 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 25
- Tornadoes
- 127
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Sandy Spring
The strongest storm to pass near Sandy Spring was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 3 miles away. The record near Sandy Spring begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm 69 miles away. Of the 28 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Sandy Spring has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The highest rating among the 127 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on September 24, 2001, came within 8 miles. Of the 127, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 75 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2025. Sandy Spring has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 239 Maryland cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 129 times since 1965, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Sandy Spring has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 239 Maryland cities.
Compare Sandy Spring's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sandy Spring
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 23 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 18 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 2 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 54 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 3 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sandy Spring: 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 Sandy Spring
By decade
- 2020s21
- 2010s36
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s30(1 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | F3 | 8 mi | 17.5 mi | 2 / 55 |
| Sep 5, 1979 | F3 | 16 mi | 17.9 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 1, 1973 | F3 | 21 mi | 9.8 mi | 0 / 37 |
| Jun 9, 1961 | F3 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 2, 2018 | EF2 | 15 mi | 5.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 21 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 24, 1996 | F2 | 24 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 5, 1995 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 18, 1990 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 59 |
The strongest 12 of 127, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sandy Spring
The Storm Prediction Center has 129 hail reports within 10 miles of Sandy Spring since 1965, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 89 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 8, 1990. The most recent report is from September 7, 2023. May has the most reports, 39.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sandy Spring
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rockville 1 NE, MD, 7 miles southwest of Sandy Spring at 440 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 27°F. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (21.9 of 41.5 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 28 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal October there has highs of 66°F and 3.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 23 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 86 nights a year. That 41.5 inches is more than at 5 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (12%). Ashton, 2 miles east, has its own station (Laurel 3 W, MD): 47.5 inches a year, 6.0 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Washington, DC, 19 miles south, 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, 19 miles from Sandy Spring, 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.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 27 | 3.1 | 6 | 39 |
| Feb | 45 | 28 | 2.6 | 5 | 41 |
| Mar | 54 | 36 | 3.7 | 7 | 50 |
| Apr | 66 | 46 | 3.2 | 6 | 60 |
| May | 74 | 55 | 3.6 | 7 | 69 |
| Jun | 82 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 77 |
| Jul | 87 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 | 84 |
| Aug | 85 | 67 | 3.1 | 5 | 82 |
| Sep | 78 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 | 76 |
| Oct | 66 | 48 | 3.5 | 5 | 66 |
| Nov | 56 | 38 | 3.3 | 5 | 54 |
| Dec | 46 | 31 | 3.4 | 6 | 42 |
| Year | 65 | 47 | 41.5 | 72 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rockville 1 NE, MD (440 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Sandy Spring
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 645 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sandy Spring: 466 thunderstorm wind reports, 89 floods, 84 flash floods and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 4 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $18.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 12, 2022. July has had the most flash floods, 31 of 84. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 169 have had fewer than Sandy Spring.
September 1, 2021: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Sandy Spring — 1 killed, 4 injured, $1.0 million damage.
October 31, 2019: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Sandy Spring — 1 killed, $1.5 million damage.
June 11, 2026: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sandy Spring — 1 killed, $1,000 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
Montgomery County, which includes Sandy Spring, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1971, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 5 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Montgomery County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes and tornadoes; Very Low for coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $126.4 million a year, the 3rd highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $71.0 million (56%), 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.