Baltimore

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Baltimore city, the county that contains Baltimore.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Baltimore city, the county that contains Baltimore.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in Baltimore city.

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Baltimore city, the county that contains Baltimore.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for Baltimore city.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Baltimore city.

Mapped by NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Southern Baltimore$252 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel made landfall on the North Carolina Coast. Its huge wind field was already piling water up into the southern Chesapeake Bay. By the time Isabel moved into central Virginia, it had weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. Isabel's eye tracked well west of the bay, but the storm's 40 to 50 mph sustained winds pushed a bulge of water northward up the bay and its tributaries producing a record storm surge. The Maryland western shore counties of the Chesapeake Bay and along the tidal tributaries of the Potomac, Patuxent, Patapsco and other smaller rivers experience a storm surge reached 5 to 9 feet above normal tides. In many locations,…

2. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Southern Baltimore$7.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts of 59-68 mph were measured by a mesonet and spotters. There were numerous tree damage as well as trees into homes and some trees blocking roads. Many people were without power.

3. May 27, 2018Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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.

4. Jun 5, 2024Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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.

5. Feb 14, 2003Winter Storm, Southern Baltimore$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A complex storm system produced copious amounts of wintery precipitation across Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay between the evening of the 14th and midday on the 18th. The first batch of precipitation fell between the evening of the 14th and the evening of the 15th in the form of light to moderate snow or rain. The second batch of precipitation fell between midnight on the 16th through midday on the 17th in the form of heavy snow or sleet. The third batch of precipitation on the back side of the storm fell between the evening of the 17th and midday on the 18th in the form of scattered snow showers. After the precipitation came to an end, record breaking snow and sleet…

6. Jul 7, 2004Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Stores and businesses along Jones Fall were damaged due to flooding.

7. May 16, 2025Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After cross the tidal Patapsco River, a tornado came back onshore in the Canton area. A path of uprooted trees and snapped branches was noted in Canton Waterfront Park, from the shoreline through the park. After this, the tornado moved east towards The Shops at Canton Crossing. This is where the tornado punched a hole near the roofline of the west-facing wall of a fitness facility. Once wind entered the building, it lifted off part of the east roof and blew it to the east-southeast. Areas east of the shopping mall consist of rail yards and industrial facilities, where no damage was noted by survey or reported. From Canton Crossing, the storm turned slightly right to the…

8. Jun 13, 2003Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cars and homes were damaged after several streets were flooded by rapidly rising water. Motorists had to be rescued or swam to safety. A woman was injured when she fell through a floor that was weakened by flooding.

9. Aug 13, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A few hundred trees blew down throughout the City of Baltimore. A large tree and several branches were blown down near the intersection of Biltmore Avenue and Pinkey Road.

10. Sep 16, 1999Tropical Storm, Southern Baltimore / Baltimore (C)$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Hurricane Floyd made landfall just east of Cape Fear, North Carolina in the early morning hours of the 16th and moved north-northeast across extreme southeast Virginia to near Ocean City, Maryland by evening on the 16th. Rainbands on the outer edge of the hurricane began to affect Maryland east of Washington County shortly after 8:00 AM EDT on the 15th and continued to cross the area through afternoon on the 16th. The eye of Hurricane Floyd passed east of the Chesapeake Bay between 9:00 AM and midnight on the 16th. Gusty winds of 30 to 50 MPH blew across the area between 11:00 AM and midnight on the 16th, with localized wind gusts over 50 MPH near the Chesapeake Bay. Hundreds of…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

106°FJul 22, 2011

All-time low

−7°F3 times, most recently Jan 22, 1984

Warmest night

82°F2 times, most recently Jul 8, 2012

Coldest day

5°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

6.30 inAug 12, 2014

Snowiest day

25.5 inJan 23, 2016

Hottest year

2023mean 59.4°F

Coldest year

1958mean 53.4°F

Wettest year

201871.82 in

Driest year

195427.89 in

Snowiest season

77.0 in2009-10

Station Baltimore-washington International Airport (USW00093721), 138 ft elevation, 9.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Baltimore city.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00093721.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.