282
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$2.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Delaware: 282 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 96. That places the county #523 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Delaware: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Kent County is the 2020s, when 84 of the county's 282 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Kent County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 56.4% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #523 for this hazard and #3 within Delaware, putting it in the 83.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Kent County with 75 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | HAGLETTVILLE | 80 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 12, 1999 | CLAYTON | 0 | 0 | 1 | $200K |
| Feb 24, 1990 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2026 | SMYRNA | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | CLAYTON | 55 | $40K |
| Apr 1, 2026 | CLAYTON | 55 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | BROOKDALE HGTS | 63 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | (DOV)DOVER AFB | 57 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | DOVER ARPT | 57 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | WOODLAND BEACH | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | FELTON YORDE ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | HARRINGTON | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2026 | CAMDEN | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Kent County
- Heavy Rain 91
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two sites along Route 13 had some wind damage. One was about 2 miles south of Felton where a warehouse lost its loading doors and sustained damage to some other doors. An empty trailer was blown off a rig which was driving south on Route 13. The second site was just west of Route 13 north of Felton where a mobile home was moved from its foundation (no tie-down) a damaged. Winds were estimated between 55 and 70 mph.
A severe thunderstorm produced a swath of straight-line wind damage up to one-half mile wide in spots from just west of Harrington in southwestern Kent County in Mispillion Hundred south to the town of Greenwood in northern Sussex County. Damage began on High Stump Road west of Harrington where a few tree tops were snapped and a few other trees were uprooted. An old barn was blown down, with its roofing material blown up to one-half mile away. Farther south, two trees were blown down along Burrsville Road. Wind damage continued into Sussex County. ||Corn was stripped to the stalk on many fields within the damage swath, resulting in a total loss in some cases. Wheat and barely fields also suffered substantial damage. Combined Kent and Sussex County crop losses could easily total several hundred thousand dollars. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at 80 MPH.
A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage between Smyrna and Blackiston Crossroads mainly in Kenton Hundred. There were nine calls for fallen trees and downed wires. In Smyrna shingles were torn from one home and a downed tree damaged a porch. Between Clayton and Blackiston, two mobile homes were damaged after trees fell on them. Another mobile home was moved off its foundation. A barn was destroyed by the thunderstorm winds and a camper within it was damaged. One hundred pound propane tanks were toppled. Several homes in the Plantation Crossing development west of Clayton suffered minor structural damage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Kent County, Delaware?
282 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Kent County between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Kent County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Kent County measured 96.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Kent County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Kent County, Delaware.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/delaware/kent-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.