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New Castle; Gloucester; Camden; Northwestern Burlington; Delaware; Philadelphia; Eastern Montgomery; Lower Bucks
New Castle County, Delaware severe weather history spans 873 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 50.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #225 nationally and #1 in Delaware.
873
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
31
Direct injuries
$40.1M
Property damage
The record
What the New Castle County, Delaware severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, New Castle County, Delaware severe weather history averages 12.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 320 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 804 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the New Castle County, Delaware record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $27.9M 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 New Castle County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 444 | 2 | $2.0M | 78 | 1960–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 156 | 4 | $27.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 73 | 0 | $5K | 2.5 | 1970–2023 |
| Flood | 70 | 0 | $600K | 0 | 2005–2024 |
| Lightning | 49 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 39 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2017 |
| Tornado | 28 | 0 | $7.6M | F3 | 1954–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2021 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
New Castle County, Delaware severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-04-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-09-05 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 35.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-09-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-09-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-09-05 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in New Castle County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16, 1999 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 1 | $8.0M |
| Aug 28, 2011 | Flash Flood | MILFORD XRDS | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | SILVERBROOK | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 16, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Sep 6, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Aug 3, 2012 | Lightning | BELVIDERE | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | MONROE PARK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2019 | Lightning | ROSEVILLE PARK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The oppressive heat and humidity during the day on the 15th set the stage for a complex of severe thunderstorms the early morning of the 16th. A wide swath of downed trees and power lines occurred in northern parts of the county, mostly to the north of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canals. A 52-year-old male in the Limestone Hills Development of Pike Creek was killed in his sleep as the severe thunderstorm snapped a 70-foot tall tree in half plunging it into his bedroom. His wife was unharmed. About 35,000 Delmarva Power and Light customers lost power. More than 10,000 still did not have it restored Monday morning the 17th. It was the utility's worst power outage since the March snow storm of 1958. Lightning ignited a fire that badly damaged two stores in the old post office in Hockessin Corner.
Widespread flash flooding occurred in New Castle County with many road closures. Several rivers and creeks in the county overflowed their banks, including the Christina River, the Red Clay Creek and the White Clay Creek. More than 200 residences were affected by the flooding.
A squall line of severe thunderstorms produced wind damage across New Castle County, with the hardest hit areas in the northern part of the county. Numerous trees were uprooted and damaged, especially Tulip Poplars. In Newark, a couple of trees fell on homes and the siding was ripped away from one apartment building. In and around Wilmington, a large tree crashed through a home in Westover Hills. The Hagley Museum and Library lost eight trees. Elsmere and Hockessin were among the communties that were hardest hit by power outages.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
577,961
Population (ACS)
$352K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 16, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
| Oct 29, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Coochs Bridge 106
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in New Castle County, Delaware?
873 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $40.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in New Castle County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 444 recorded events — 50.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed New Castle County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover New Castle County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include New Castle County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is New Castle County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates New Castle County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the New Castle County, Delaware 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
- Kent County 500
- Sussex County 850
Cite this page
“New Castle County, Delaware.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/delaware/new-castle-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.