NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Smithsburg, 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
23 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Smithsburg, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Sandy in 2012. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 3
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 74
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Smithsburg
The strongest storm to pass near Smithsburg was an unnamed storm in 1878, a Category 1 hurricane with 90 mph winds when its centre passed 39 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Hazel in 1954, whose centre came within 12 miles. The record near Smithsburg begins with an unnamed storm in 1876; the most recent system was Sandy in 2012, a tropical storm 28 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 23 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Smithsburg has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 14% of the 239 Maryland cities on this site. The strongest of the 74 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 22, 1983; its path came within 17 miles. Of the 74, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on June 5, 2024. Of the 239 Maryland cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Smithsburg. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Smithsburg has more hail reports within 10 miles than 63% of the 239 Maryland cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Smithsburg
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | SandyOct 30 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2006 | ErnestoSep 2 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1955 | DianeAug 18 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1955 | ConnieAug 13 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1954 | HazelOct 15 | 12 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1943 | Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormAug 24 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 2 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 20 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 30 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 23 | overhead | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 14 | 22 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 13 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 39 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormSep 18 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Smithsburg: 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 Smithsburg
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s8
- 2000s15
- 1990s23
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s10
- 1960s5
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 1983 | F3 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2019 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 17, 2004 | F2 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1996 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1994 | F2 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 31, 1978 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1954 | F2 | 22 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2011 | EF1 | 16 mi | 0.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 2011 | EF1 | 10 mi | 2.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2011 | EF1 | 24 mi | 4.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 2011 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 31, 2009 | EF1 | 24 mi | 2.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Smithsburg
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Smithsburg since 1956, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on September 3, 1993. The most recent report is from September 7, 2023. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Smithsburg
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Catoctin Mountain Park, MD, 5 miles east of Smithsburg at 1,610 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 23°F. September is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 48.6 inches over 84 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (25.0 of 48.6 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 23 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (8); a normal October there has highs of 65°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 106 nights a year. That 48.6 inches is more than at 39 of the 41 Maryland stations used on this site (95%). Waynesboro, PA, 8 miles north, has its own station (S Mountain, PA): 48.6 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 81°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | 23 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Feb | 42 | 25 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Mar | 52 | 31 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Apr | 65 | 42 | 4.0 | 7 |
| May | 73 | 52 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 65 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 63 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 58 | 5.3 | 8 |
| Oct | 65 | 46 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 54 | 36 | 3.7 | 7 |
| Dec | 43 | 28 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Year | 63 | 44 | 48.6 | 84 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Catoctin Mountain Park, MD (1,610 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. 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 Smithsburg
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 318 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Smithsburg: 271 thunderstorm wind reports, 30 floods, 16 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on April 19, 2025. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 16. Of the 239 Maryland cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 54 have had fewer than Smithsburg.
April 19, 2025: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Smithsburg — $500,000 damage.
November 29, 2005: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Smithsburg — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Roof blown off house and rendered uninhabitable.”
June 24, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Smithsburg — $120,000 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
Washington County, which includes Smithsburg, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 26, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.9 million a year, the 10th highest of 24 Maryland counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.5 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 Smithsburg
- Waynesboro, PA8 mi
- Hagerstown, MD8 mi
- Myersville, MD9 mi
- Thurmont, MD9 mi
- Boonsboro, MD11 mi
- Fairfield, PA12 mi
- Emmitsburg, MD13 mi
- Greencastle, PA14 mi
- Williamsport, MD14 mi
- Middletown, MD14 mi
- Keedysville, MD15 mi
- Woodsboro, MD16 mi
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