Frederick County, Maryland severe weather history spans 1,074 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 57.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #116 nationally and #3 in Maryland.
1,074
Recorded events
9
Direct deaths
14
Direct injuries
$58.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Frederick County, Maryland severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Frederick County, Maryland severe weather history averages 14.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 435 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 1,011 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Frederick County, Maryland record is flash flood, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $50.7M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Frederick County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 617 | 0 | $3.9M | 76 | 1958–2026 |
| Flood | 194 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 91 | 6 | $50.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 86 | 0 | $5K | 2.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $2.8M | F3 | 1952–2021 |
| Lightning | 23 | 1 | $1.5M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 20 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2001 |
| Strong Wind | 2 | 0 | $17K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Winter Weather | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Frederick County, Maryland severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-05-22 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-02-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-08-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Frederick County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 2006 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 5 | 1 | $500K |
| Jul 8, 2005 | Heavy Rain | FREDERICK | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 3, 2002 | Lightning | FREDERICK | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 19, 1996 | Flash Flood | N PORTION | 1 | 0 | $5.0M |
| Jul 10, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | EMMITSBURG | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2003 | Lightning | WALKERSVILLE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 3, 2002 | Lightning | FREDERICK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Apr 27, 1988 | 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
Significant flash flooding occurred during the evening of May 15th from the city of Frederick southwestward toward Braddock Heights and Jefferson. The amount of damage shown here is total damage not already accounted for in other reports.
Floodwaters were more than two feet deep on North Market Street near the Frederick YMCA. Water entered buildings in the area and several parked cars were mostly submerged in water. The YMCA building itself had water enter the building with an estimated 40,000 sqft of the 95,000 sqft facility suffering water damage.
A wind gust of 70 knots (81 MPH) was measured by the AWOS at Camp David (KRSP). Hundreds of trees, limbs, wires, and poles blew down around Thurmont and Emmitsburg. Trees blew down on MD-77 Foxville Road at Herman Hauver Road, and on MD-550 Jimtown Road east of US-15. Numerous tree limbs blew down southeast of Thurmont toward New Midway. Five large 60-foot tall pine trees blew down near Thurmont, one of which crushed an unoccupied vehicle; there were also ten trees snapped at the top near this location.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
287,048
Population (ACS)
$465K
Median home value
23
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 |
| Jun 25, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 4, 2016 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Nov 20, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Emmitsburg 137
- Frederick 123
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Frederick County, Maryland?
1,074 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 9 direct deaths and $58.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Frederick County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 617 recorded events — 57.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Frederick County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Frederick County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Frederick County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Frederick County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Frederick County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Frederick 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
- Dorchester County 264
- Garrett County 319
- Charles County 682
- Harford County 948
- Cecil County 534
- Howard County 608
Cite this page
“Frederick County, Maryland.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/maryland/frederick-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.