NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Seaford, DE
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
54 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Seaford, Delaware since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 52 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 7
- Tropical storms
- 47
- Tornadoes
- 52
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Seaford
The strongest storm to pass near Seaford was an unnamed storm in 1879, a Category 2 hurricane with 99 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1924, whose centre came within 23 miles. The record near Seaford begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 16 miles away. The 1880s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 6 systems each. Of the 54 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Seaford has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 54% of the 37 Delaware cities on this site. The highest rating among the 52 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 1, 2023, came within 8 miles. Of the 52, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on June 30, 2025. Seaford has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 64% of the 37 Delaware cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 14 times since 1968, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 37 Delaware cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Seaford.
Compare Seaford's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Seaford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 10 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 74 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 44 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 6 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 29 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | GastonAug 31 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 15 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 16 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1992 | DanielleSep 26 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 62 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1963 | Unnamed 1963 stormJun 3 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 10 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 21 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormAug 3 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 12 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 23 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 30 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 51 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 12 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 49 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 25 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 2 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 23 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormSep 10 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 18 | 63 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 4 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 27 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 17 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 20 | 41 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 Seaford: 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 Seaford
By decade
- 2020s10(1 EF3+)
- 2010s6
- 2000s5(1 EF3+)
- 1990s19
- 1980s4
- 1970s3
- 1960s3
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2023 | EF3 | 8 mi | 14.3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 28, 2002 | F3 | 23 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2019 | EF2 | 5 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 18, 1995 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1984 | F2 | 11 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1984 | F1 | 4 mi | 18 mi | 1 / 14 |
| May 16, 2025 | EF1 | 6 mi | 11.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 2021 | EF1 | 23 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 2021 | EF1 | 17 mi | 3.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 2020 | EF1 | 19 mi | 2.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 2019 | EF1 | 19 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 52, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Seaford
The Storm Prediction Center has 14 hail reports within 10 miles of Seaford since 1968, made on 12 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 3, 2002. The most recent report is from June 2, 2022.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Seaford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Greenwood 2NE, DE, 12 miles north of Seaford at 45 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 44°F and 25°F. September is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 46.3 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (24.9 of 46.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 54 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (19); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 22 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.3 inches is more than at 4 of the 11 Delaware stations used on this site (36%). Laurel, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Salisbury, MD): 48.0 inches a year, 1.7 more than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Cambridge, MD, 25 miles west, averaged 83°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 Cambridge tide gauge, 25 miles from Seaford, has risen 1.59 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1943 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 15.9 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 97 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 | 44 | 25 | 3.6 | 7 | 3.3 | 39 |
| Feb | 46 | 26 | 2.9 | 6 | 5.9 | 40 |
| Mar | 54 | 33 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.6 | 48 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.2 | 58 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 | 67 |
| Jun | 82 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Jul | 87 | 67 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 | 83 |
| Aug | 85 | 65 | 4.5 | 5 | 0.0 | 82 |
| Sep | 79 | 58 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 | 76 |
| Oct | 68 | 46 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 65 |
| Nov | 57 | 37 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 | 54 |
| Dec | 48 | 29 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.8 | 43 |
| Year | 66 | 45 | 46.3 | 75 | 12.8 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Greenwood 2NE, DE (45 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Cambridge, 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 Seaford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 180 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Seaford: 115 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods, 8 floods and 6 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $663,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on May 16, 2025. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 12. Of the 37 Delaware cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 12 have had fewer than Seaford.
August 28, 2011: flood 5 miles from the centre of Seaford — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “In Caroline County, about two dozen homes and businesses were damaged by flooding and wind. Flooding occurred along the Choptank River in Greensboro.”
July 28, 2007: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Seaford — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “m. m.”
June 29, 2012: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Seaford — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A gust front outrunning a cluster of severe thunderstorms entered near Seaford in western Sussex County at approximately 11:57 pm EDT on the 29th. This gust front produced damaging wind gusts estimated between 65 mph to 70 mph as it traversed eastward across the county.”
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 Seaford's ZIP code 19973 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $860,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 12 claims (19% of all) and $101,000. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 15. 28% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 24 Delaware cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 8 have fewer than Seaford.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy2012 | 12 | $101,000 |
Sussex County, which includes Seaford, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 snowstorms, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm, on May 29, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sussex County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding; Relatively High for hurricanes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $119.3 million a year, the 2nd highest of 3 Delaware counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $42.6 million (36%), 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.