Caroline County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 25, 2006Flash Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Repeating thunderstorms with torrential downpours dropped up to around one foot of rain across southern parts of Caroline County. This caused extensive roadway, field and stream flooding. Hardest hit was Federalsburg where 11.5 inches of rain fell. An emergency was declared the morning of the 25th. About 40 people were evacuated along the Marshyhope Creek where the worst flooding occurred. All were permitted to return except for people on the east side of Main Street. Flooding along the Marshyhope Creek destroyed Railroad Avenue and badly damaged the tracks of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad Line. Over a dozen roads were closed in the county including the Central Avenue Bridge…

2. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd battered the Maryland Eastern Shore on September 16th and brought with it torrential rains and damaging winds. The hurricane caused widespread flash flooding as storm totals averaged around ten inches, most of which fell in a twelve hour period from the early morning through the afternoon on the 16th. The highest verifiable storm total was 14.00 inches in Chestertown (Kent County). Based on Doppler Radar storm totals estimate similar amounts also fell across northern Queen Anne's County. Flooding along tidal sections of inland creeks and rivers were exacerbated during times of high tide. The torrential downpours associated with Hurricane Floyd exceeded the…

3. Sep 19, 2003Storm Surge/Tide, Caroline$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Isabel caused a record breaking tide and storm surge up the Chesapeake Bay, heavy rain and strong power outage producing winds. Isabel made landfall as a hurricane near Drum Inlet, North Carolina around 100 p.m. EDT on the 18th and weakened as it tracked farther inland. At one time in its life cycle, it was a powerful Category 5 hurricane when it was north of the Leewood Islands. Isabel's track took it west of the bay and was able to funnel water into the bay. This caused flooding along coastal areas into Cecil County. A record breaking high tide of 7.91 feet above mean lower low water was observed at Tolchester Beach (Kent County). The surge was 6.88 feet. Tidal…

4. Oct 29, 2012Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The heavy rain that fell across Caroline County not only caused poor drainage flooding, but exacerbated the tidal flooding along the Chesapeake Bay. Event precipitation totals included 10.55 inches in American Corner, 9.93 inches in Greensboro and 8.93 inches in Denton.

5. Jun 4, 2008Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 tornado touched down west of Preston and moved through the city before lifting. The tornado was part of a squall line that moved through the area during the afternoon of the 4th. The combination of the squall line and the tornado caused about $500,000 in damage to about 30 homes and businesses in and around Preston. Numerous trees were either snapped or uprooted. The only reported injury was a man who hurt himself using a chainsaw during the clean-up. ||The tornado touched down just west of Havercamp Road and proceeded east through Preston before lifting east of Payne Road. On Havercamp Road. shingles were blown from one home and a boat and trailer were lifted by the…

6. Aug 28, 2011Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Caroline County, about two dozen homes and businesses were damaged by flooding and wind. Flooding occurred along the Choptank River in Greensboro. Flooding also occurred along the Marshyhope Creek in Federalsburg. Flooding rains forced the closure of sections of Maryland State Routes 313, 619, 314 and 480. In all the combination of wind and flooding rain closed twenty roadways in the county. Auction Road near Harmony was hardest hit and took weeks to re-open. Event rainfall totals included 11.68 inches in Denton, 10.50 inches in Hickman and 9.58 inches in Greensboro.

7. Jun 4, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A squall line of severe thunderstorms plus an EF0 tornado caused wind damage across southwestern Caroline County. The combination of the squall line and the tornado caused about $500,000 in damage to about 30 homes and businesses in and around Preston. Most of the non-tornadic wind damage occurred on the south side of Preston and also from Poplar Neck Road westward. The worst reported damage occurred on Poplar Neck Road where three irrigation systems were toppled and twisted, a garage building was blown away and several large trees were knocked down. One damaged the side of one home. In Preston, most of the thunderstorm wind damage occurred on Apple Lane. No injuries were reported.

8. Feb 16, 2003Winter Storm, Caroline$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The most powerful storm to affect the Eastern Shore since the Blizzard of 1996 struck during the President's Day Weekend. Snow began falling before dawn on Sunday the 16th and fell heavy at times through that evening. Precipitation began mixing with sleet from the evening of the 16th into the morning of the 17th. Sleet was the predominant precipitation type overnight in southern sections of the Eastern Shore. Precipitation changed to all snow again during the morning of the 17th before ending during the afternoon. Governor Robert Ehrlich declared a state of emergency on the 16th and also issued an executive order banning travel. The state of emergency made state resources…

9. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Caroline$135,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Irene produced heavy flooding rain, tropical storm force wind gusts and caused one wind related death across the Eastern Shore. Preliminary damage estimates were around three million dollars and approximately 85,000 homes and businesses lost power. Power was not fully restored until September 1st. The combination of heavy rain and wind closed numerous roadways across the Eastern Shore and downed thousands of trees. Some schools were unable to open on Monday August 29th. There was a temporary ban on harvesting shellfish along Chesapeake Bay because of the excessive runoff. Some tomato, corn, watermelon and cantaloupe crops were destroyed. It was estimated that 30,000…

10. Jul 25, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage across several municipalities in Caroline County. Numerous trees and wires were knocked down, some were greater than 100 years old. Choptank Electric and Delmarva Power and Light reported about 3,000 homes and businesses lost power in the county. Power was not fully restored until 5 a.m. EDT on the 26th. In Denton, the porch railings were ripped away from one home and porch furniture was tossed two hundred feet. Numerous trees were knocked down from Asbury off of Maryland State Route 328 southeast through the Caroline Country Club. In Federalsburg, the damaging winds caused roof damage to one home and Henry's Furniture Store. Dover Doppler…

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

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 2011

All-time low

−5°FJan 30, 2014

Warmest night

84°FJul 23, 2011

Coldest day

17°F2 times, most recently Feb 20, 2015

Wettest day

7.59 inJun 25, 2006

Hottest year

2012mean 59.5°F

Coldest year

2000mean 55.0°F

Wettest year

200959.97 in

Driest year

202434.99 in

Station Georgetown-delaware Coastal Airport (USW00013764), 50 ft elevation, 28.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 26, 2026; 96.8% 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 USW00013764.
• 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.