Live
Active alerts for this county
Severe Thunderstorm Watch
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
Baltimore city, Maryland severe weather history spans 270 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,965 nationally and #20 in Maryland.
270
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
27
Direct injuries
$9.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Baltimore city, Maryland severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Baltimore city, Maryland severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 80 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 239 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Baltimore city, Maryland record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $4.9M 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 Baltimore city
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 150 | 0 | $1.3M | 78 | 1957–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 56 | 4 | $4.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 24 | 0 | $5K | 4.5 | 1957–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 16 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2005 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $13K | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Tornado | 7 | 2 | $3.0M | F0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 4 | 2 | $30K | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2005 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Baltimore city, Maryland severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-02 | EF1 | 2 | 1 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-11-17 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-05-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Baltimore city
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 2003 | Flash Flood | BALTIMORE | 4 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 3, 2018 | Tornado | PENN MARY JCT | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 1998 | Lightning | WEST BALTIMORE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 28, 2005 | Heavy Rain | BALTIMORE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 1996 | Lightning | DOWNTOWN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 18 | $0 | |
| Nov 17, 2010 | Tornado | RASPEBURG | 0 | 3 | $200K |
| May 17, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several roads flooded in Baltimore City. More than 20 people were rescued from vehicle rooftops during heavy rains. Six people were displaced from their homes, and Frederick Avenue was damaged in the Beechfield neighborhood.
After initially touching down outside city limits, tree damage was evident from a distance along a small ridgeline that extended from the end of Hilltop Avenue to West Patapsco Avenue parallel to the B and O Railroad nearby. The tornado continued|past this point, twisting and snapping the trunks of several medium to large hardwood trees along Nieman Avenue. The most notable damage was just before the tornado lifted at Overflo Warehouse LLC. Large pieces of the warehouse roofing material were|peeled back along with pieces of flashing. Radar indicated the circulation clearing this point and lifting at the back of Nieman Avenue around 8:57 PM EDT.
Three of the units in the Dutch Village Apartment complex had their roofs blown off. There was also extensive tree damage across the area and several cars were shifted by the force of the wind.||Three minor injuries were reported in Baltimore. One of those was a child. The path of the tornado continued into Baltimore County.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
573,243
Population (ACS)
$230K
Median home value
22
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 Baltimore city, Maryland?
270 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 9 direct deaths and $9.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Baltimore city?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 150 recorded events — 55.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Baltimore city?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Baltimore city?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Baltimore city, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Baltimore city compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Baltimore city as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Baltimore city, 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
- Worcester County 267
- Wicomico County 300
- Washington County 652
- Talbot County 327
- Somerset County 168
- St. Mary's County 648
Cite this page
“Baltimore city, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/baltimore-city/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.