Baltimore County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Baltimore County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

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. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Northern Baltimore$155 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,…

3. Jun 5, 2024Tornado$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS Doppler Weather Radar in Sterling, Virginia showed a rotating thunderstorm that developed a tornado based on this survey. Weather spotters and residents reported a tornado touchdown in the vicinity of the I-95 and I-195 interchange around 8:45 PM EDT. This was confirmed with ground reports of several large tree trunks twisted|and snapped in the vicinity of Riverchase Apartments along Selford Road and Deer Run Court. The tornado continued east northeast along a narrow path toward Friendship Road and Francis Ave. Multiple trees and wires were down along this route in a confluent pattern. The most notable was a large oak tree snapped midway up the trunk. The tree ended up laying…

4. May 27, 2018Flash Flood$8.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding in downtown Catonsville along Frederick Road. Roads flooded and water entering buildings. Flooding was reported in local schools along with 12 swift water rescues.

5. 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.

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

   National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage that occurred in southeast Baltimore County on Wednesday, June 05, 2024.||NWS Doppler Weather Radar in Sterling, Virginia showed a rotating thunderstorm that developed a tornado based on the survey. The circulation developed just to the south of Essex, MD shortly before 9:25 PM EDT before racing northeast and strengthening toward Martin State Airport around 9:27 PM EDT. This is where a notable debris|signature started to show up on radar as the storm pushed north-northeast. This signature was confirmed with ground reports of fencing damage near a warehouse across from…

7. Aug 26, 1999Flash Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding, damage to over a hundred cars in Woodlawn, water rescues in Owings Mills and Randalstown

8. Jul 28, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees blew down around Reisterstown, including many onto houses and cars.

9. Jul 28, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees blew down around Pikesville, Garrison, Chestnut Ridge, and Brooklandville blocking numerous roads. Many trees fell onto houses and cars.

10. 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…

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, 13.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• 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.