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Caroline County, Maryland severe weather history spans 265 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 61.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,005 nationally and #22 in Maryland.
265
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$9.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Caroline County, Maryland severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Caroline County, Maryland severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 83 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 259 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Caroline County, Maryland record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $7.4M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Caroline County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 163 | 1 | $400K | 75 | 1956–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 42 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $7.4M | 0 | 1996–2018 |
| Hail | 16 | 0 | $50K | 2.75 | 1991–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $375K | F1 | 1952–2026 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $59K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2006–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Caroline County, Maryland severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-05-08 | EF1 | 1 | 14 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 10 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1978-04-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-11-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-07-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-04-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Caroline County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | DENTON | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 1999 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $3.3M |
| Jan 19, 1996 | Lightning | DENTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Photo of a camper significantly damaged by a fallen tree and the Martinak State Park Campground. This resulted in one injury to an occupant. Time estimated from radar. This was near the beginning of a macroburst which continued for about 18 miles east into Delaware with estimated peak winds of 110 mph.
The heavy rain that fell across Caroline County not only caused poor drainage flooding, but exacerbated the tidal flooding along the Chesapeake Bay. Event precipitation totals included 10.55 inches in American Corner, 9.93 inches in Greensboro and 8.93 inches in Denton.
In Caroline County, about two dozen homes and businesses were damaged by flooding and wind. Flooding occurred along the Choptank River in Greensboro. Flooding also occurred along the Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg. Flooding rains forced the closure of sections of Maryland State Routes 313, 619, 314 and 480. In all the combination of wind and flooding rain closed twenty roadways in the county. Auction Road near Harmony was hardest hit and took weeks to re-open. Event rainfall totals included 11.68 inches in Denton, 10.50 inches in Hickman and 9.58 inches in Greensboro.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
33,669
Population (ACS)
$290K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Mar 26, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 4, 2016 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Nov 20, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Caroline County, Maryland?
265 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $9.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Caroline County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 163 recorded events — 61.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Caroline County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Caroline County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Caroline County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Caroline County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Caroline County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Caroline County, Maryland severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Calvert County 447
- Carroll County 684
- Cecil County 534
- Baltimore County 1,320
- Charles County 682
- Anne Arundel County 946
Cite this page
“Caroline County, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/caroline-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.