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District of Columbia, DC; Allegany, MD; Anne Arundel, MD; Baltimore, MD; Calvert, MD; Carroll, MD; Cecil, MD; Charles, MD; Frederick, MD; Harford, MD; Howard, MD; Montgomery, MD; Prince Georges, MD; St. Marys, MD; Washington, MD; Baltimore City, MD; Arlington, VA; Clarke, VA; Culpeper, VA; Fairfax, VA; Fauquier, VA; Frederick, VA; Greene, VA; King George, VA; Loudoun, VA; Madison, VA; Orange, VA; Page, VA; Prince William, VA; Rappahannock, VA; Shenandoah, VA; Spotsylvania, VA; Stafford, VA; Warren, VA; City of Alexandria, VA; City of Fairfax, VA; City of Falls Church, VA; City of Fredericksburg, VA; City of Manassas, VA; City of Manassas Park, VA; City of Winchester, VA; Berkeley, WV; Hampshire, WV; Hardy, WV; Jefferson, WV; Mineral, WV; Morgan, WV
Prince George's County, Maryland severe weather history spans 960 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #161 nationally and #4 in Maryland.
960
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
77
Direct injuries
$123.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Prince George's County, Maryland severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Prince George's County, Maryland severe weather history averages 13.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 335 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 62 events fall before 1990 and 898 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Prince George's County, Maryland record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $111.5M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Prince George's County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 563 | 0 | $7.3M | 83 | 1957–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 117 | 0 | $4.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 105 | 0 | $12K | 2 | 1959–2022 |
| Flood | 99 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 31 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2005 |
| Tornado | 26 | 2 | $111.5M | F3 | 1953–2022 |
| Lightning | 13 | 1 | $695K | 0 | 1997–2007 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2001 |
| Strong Wind | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Prince George's County, Maryland severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 26 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-09-24 | EF3 | 2 | 55 | 17.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-10-05 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-09-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-05-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-05-18 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Prince George's County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2001 | Tornado | HYATTSVILLE | 2 | 55 | $100.0M |
| Jun 27, 2007 | Lightning | OXON HILL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2012 | Flash Flood | RIVERDALE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 3 | $20K |
| Oct 6, 1995 | Tornado | Temple Hills | 0 | 3 | $5.0M |
| Jun 30, 2001 | Lightning | OXON HILL | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 18, 1995 | Tornado | Cheverly | 0 | 2 | $2.0M |
| May 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large multi-vortex tornado touched down near Hyattsville, tracked along the Route 1 cooridor from College Park to Laurel, then crossed into Howard County. The tornado killed 2 students at the University of Maryland, injured 54 others countywide, and caused 100 million dollars in damage.
A thunderstorm, with nearly continuous lightning, moved out of Washington DC into adjacent western Prince Georges County, near Oxon Hill, MD. A 16 year old girl was struck by lightning waiting for a bus on Kennebec Street. She was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The strongest tornado, containing estimated winds of 150 mph, caused substantial damage, and several injuries, at a Temple Hills neighborhood. Three persons sustained minor injuries requiring a short hospital stay; 17 others reported cuts and abrasions. In all, 100 homes suffered damage. Fifteen of the homes were damaged severely enough to be condemned; four homes lost their entire roofs. Numerous trees, several wide-girthed hardwoods, were uprooted, and 9,000 Potomac Electric Power customers were without power.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
959,754
Population (ACS)
$426K
Median home value
19
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Upper Marlboro 179
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Prince George's County, Maryland?
960 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $123.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Prince George's County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 563 recorded events — 58.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Prince George's County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 26 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Prince George's County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Prince George's County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Prince George's County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Prince George's County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 93 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Prince George's 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
- Montgomery County 1,599
- Queen Anne's County 386
- Kent County 329
- St. Mary's County 648
- Howard County 608
- Somerset County 168
Cite this page
“Prince George’s County, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/prince-georges-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.