Garrett County, Maryland severe weather history spans 319 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,669 nationally and #18 in Maryland.
319
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$10.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Garrett County, Maryland severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Garrett County, Maryland severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 99 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 17 events fall before 1990 and 302 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Garrett County, Maryland record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Garrett County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 166 | 0 | $2.8M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 51 | 0 | $3.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 48 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1986–2023 |
| Flood | 36 | 0 | $203K | 0 | 2007–2021 |
| Tornado | 12 | 1 | $4.1M | F3 | 1954–2024 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Garrett County, Maryland severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-05-19 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-03 | EF3 | 0 | 19 | 29.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-06-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 8.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 8 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-07-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Garrett County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 20, 1967 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $25K | |
| Jul 15, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $25K | |
| Jun 3, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 24, 1996 | Lightning | MC HENRY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
There were approximately 200 calls for trees, wires, and poles blown down in northern Garrett County, particularly in the Friendsville to Grantsville area. A roof was partially torn off of a house, with power lines and poles laying on the home on First Avenue. Numerous trees blew down on MD-742/MD-42 Friendsville Road at First Avenue, and on MD-42 Friendsville Road at Asher Glade Road. Dozens of trees blew down around Youghiogheny Lake, including one onto a house. Significant damage was noted in the vicinity of US-219 Chestnut Ridge Road, just north of High Point near Grantsville where a storage unit attached to a house, a two-story barn, and a small pavilion were destroyed; dozens of trees were uprooted and snapped, with wires and a few poles snapped due to the falling trees.
A wind gust of 54 knots (62 MPH) was measured by a mesonet on I-68 National Freeway at US-219 Chestnut Ridge Road (MD014). Thunderstorm winds caused a partial collapse of the salt dome at the Maryland State Highway Administration's Keyser's Ridge facility.
This was the 3rd segment of a tornado that began in Fayette county Pennsylvania, crossed Preston county West Virginia, and then moved into Garrett county Maryland and dissipated. The tornado entered Garrett county about one and one quarter miles north northwest of Sand Spring, and dissipated just east of Accident. The storm caused EF0 damage in Garrett county with maximum winds estimated at 85 MPH, a path length of nearly four and one quarter miles, and a maximum width of 150 yards. Damage in Friendsville was to 12 homes and 2 businesses with minor roof damage, 2 mobile homes with major damage, and 1 small trailer destroyed. Damage in Accident was to 12 homes with minor roof damage, and 2 homes with major damage. Much of the damage was due to large trees falling on structures.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
28,615
Population (ACS)
$235K
Median home value
14
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 Garrett County, Maryland?
319 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $10.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Garrett County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 166 recorded events — 52.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Garrett County?
11 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 Garrett County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Garrett County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Garrett County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Garrett County as very low risk, placing it in the 16 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Garrett 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
- Frederick County 1,074
- Harford County 948
- Dorchester County 264
- Howard County 608
- Charles County 682
- Kent County 329
Cite this page
“Garrett County, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/garrett-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.