Westminster

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 Carroll County, the county that contains Westminster.

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 Carroll County, the county that contains Westminster.

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.

The drought index is for Carroll County, the county that contains Westminster.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 7, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees, branches and wires blew down near and north of Westminster. 30 utility poles snapped along MD-97/MD-140 Baltimore Boulevard near Gorsuch Road, with live wires trapping several people in their vehicles for a few hours; two people were injured. Dozens of roads in the area were blocked by storm debris for several days. Several homes suffered minor roof, shingle and siding damage. Several barns were destroyed.

2. Aug 7, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees, branches and wires blew down and snapped around Manchester and Hampstead, including many onto cars and houses. Dozens of roads were blocked by storm debris for several days. Several homes suffered minor roof, shingle and siding damage. Several barns were destroyed. Numerous trees blew down near the intersection of White Oak Court and Ebbvale Road. Power poles blew down into trees near the intersection of Ralph Dell Road and Cape Horn Road.

3. Aug 7, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees, branches and wires blew down near Union Mills. Numerous trees blew down along MD-97 Littlestown Pike, including several large trees near Mayberry Road. Dozens of roads in the area were blocked by storm debris for several days. Several barns were destroyed. Several homes suffered minor roof, shingle and siding damage.

4. Jun 5, 2024Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024, a tornado that had peak damage along its path of 120mph or EF2 category, touched down 2 miles north-northwest of Eldersburg, Maryland. The National Weather Service conducted a damage survey and noted an initial area of tree damage near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Covington Court. A rotational damage signature was evident as tree damage was pointed in opposite directions.||The tornadic storm continued its track toward the northeast with additional damage observed along Bartholow Road near Sarah Drive. This included multiple large trees which were uprooted, one of which fell onto a house. Further damage was noted up the road…

5. Jun 5, 2024Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024, a tornado that had peak damage along its path of 120mph or EF2 category, touched down 2 miles north-northwest of Eldersburg, Maryland. The National Weather Service conducted a damage survey and noted an initial area of tree damage near the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Covington Court. A rotational damage signature was evident as tree damage was pointed in opposite directions.||The tornadic storm continued its track toward the northeast with additional damage observed along Bartholow Road near Sarah Drive. This included multiple large trees which were uprooted, one of which fell onto a house. Further damage was noted up the road…

6. Jul 19, 1996Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One of the most potent tornadoes in recorded history in the state of Maryland tracked for 2 and 1/4 miles through the Mystic Kane and Four Seasons subdivisions just off state route 32 northwest of Gamber. The tornado was a strong F3 (180 mph estimated winds) with multiple vortices. Homes and trees struck by individual vortices sustained the worst damage. There were several eyewitness accounts of the tornado/funnel cloud shortly before touchdown.In all, 66 structures sustained damage. Twelve single-family homes were destroyed, five which lost most of the second story and garages. Three persons were injured. Two children were injured when the tornado blew them out of the second…

7. Jul 4, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust of 70 knots (81 MPH) was measured by a trained spotter near the intersection of Ridge Road and Brangles Road. Hundreds of large trees blew down in the area.

8. Apr 19, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees, wires, and poles blew down in Taneytown, Linwood, and Uniontown. Several homes had roof damage and significant shingle or siding loss. Several outbuildings were destroyed, including a couple of sheds that blew over 100 feet. Trees blew down on MD-84 Union Bridge Road at MD-75 Green Valley Road, and on MD-832 Old Taneytown Road at Mayberry Road. The Public Safety Training Center in Westminster had a garage door blown in, and there was roof damage to barns around Union Bridge and Keymar. A tree was blown into a home in Frizzellburg. There were a few dozen reports of trees and wires down across the north half of the county from the Westminster area, north to the…

9. Jun 19, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential convective rainfall moved across the northern tier of central Maryland during the early morning hours on the 19th, producing widespread and in some cases catastrophic flooding across the area. Rainfall of over 5.5 inches fell in Emmitsburg, with up to 13 inches in nearby Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the late night hours. The worst damage was in Emmitsburg, where numerous residences, businesses, and farms were flooded. Nearly all roads leading into town, including the main thoroughfare (state route 140), were flooded and/or damaged. Fifty evacuations occurred in Frederick Co, and 21 in Washington Co. Several persons were rescued, including three volunteer fire…

10. Nov 2, 2018Tornado$900,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado moved northeastward from Howard County and entered Carroll County around 8:20 PM EDT on the evening of November 2nd. Several trees were downed along Bennett Road. Numerous trees were downed in the Pheasant Ridge community just south of MD-144/Frederick Road, and several mobile homes were heavily damaged. Several power poles were snapped along MD-144/Frederick Road.||As the tornado crossed Interstate 70/US-40/Baltimore National Pike, numerous trees and branches were downed in the roadway and on vehicles, which appeared to have been pulled off the roadway by the winds. No injuries were reported.||The tornado proceeded to move into the retail area of Mt. Airy, where a…

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

103°F2 times, most recently Aug 20, 1983

All-time low

−27°FJan 21, 1994

Warmest night

81°FJul 25, 2010

Coldest day

7°FJan 20, 1994

Wettest day

7.50 inSep 14, 1966

Snowiest day

24.0 inFeb 6, 2010

Hottest year

1998mean 56.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 50.8°F

Wettest year

201877.16 in

Driest year

200130.19 in

Snowiest season

84.0 in1995-96

Station Emmitsburg 2 Se (USC00182906), 403 ft elevation, 16.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1956 to October 26, 2026; 91.0% 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 Carroll County.

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 USC00182906.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, 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.
• 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.