Garrett County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jan 19, 1996Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate rains and a melting snow cover (15-25 inches in the Maryland mountains) on saturated soil released an estimated 3.50 to 4.50 inches of runoff into area streams. The runoff also caused major flooding on the Casselman River in Garrett County. The Casselman River flows into the Youghiogheny River, in southwest Pennsylvania and subsequently caused near record flooding downstream on the Youghiogheny River. Damages in the county totaled around $3 million. Seventy-five to 100 homes were damaged, as well as, bridges, roads, and water treatment plants.

2. Jun 2, 1998Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado passed southeast through southern Fayette County PA, the northeast tip of Preston County WV, and into northwest Garrett County MD. The total length of the tornado as it passed across these three counties was 12 miles. Damage included a completely destroyed dairy barn, two completely destroyed house trailers, and at least 21 other structures heavily damaged, many with roofs partially or completely peeled off. Several cows were killed, with one cow thrown through the air over 100 yards. A clearly visible 300-yard wide, 1-mile long swath of trees which were completely sheared/uprooted was present near the Pennsylvania/West Virginia state border. One Fayette County…

3. May 11, 2024Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Data from ground surveys in coordination with Garrett County Department of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service in Sterling, as well as radar data from the WSR-88D in Pittsburgh PA and Sterling VA confirm that a tornado of EF-1 intensity occurred between Friendsville and Accident shortly after 8 PM on Saturday, May 11.||The first damage was noted near the south end of Bearfoot Road, and then southeast along Bear Creek Road. Hundreds of healthy softwood and hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted in the 3500 and 3600 blocks of Bear Creek Road, with several trees falling on or very close to a couple of houses and trailers. At least one tree fell|onto a vehicle.…

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

   There were approximately 200 calls for trees, wires, and poles blown down in northern Garrett County, particularly in the Friendsville to Grantsville area. A roof was partially torn off of a house, with power lines and poles laying on the home on First Avenue. Numerous trees blew down on MD-742/MD-42 Friendsville Road at First Avenue, and on MD-42 Friendsville Road at Asher Glade Road. Dozens of trees blew down around Youghiogheny Lake, including one onto a house. Significant damage was noted in the vicinity of US-219 Chestnut Ridge Road, just north of High Point near Grantsville where a storage unit attached to a house, a two-story barn, and a small pavilion were destroyed;…

5. Jun 2, 1998Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado passed through the town of Finzel in extreme northeast Garrett County. Several buildings were destroyed, including a small house and cinder-block garage. This tornado actually began in extreme eastern Fayette County, PA and was on the ground for 33 miles before ending in in Allegany County, MD.

6. May 11, 2024Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Data from ground surveys in coordination with Garrett County Department of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service in Sterling, as well as radar data from the WSR-88D in Pittsburgh PA and Sterling VA confirm that a tornado of EF-1 intensity occurred in Asher Glade shortly before 8 PM on Saturday, May 11.||The first damage was noted just east of the West Virginia state line at approximately 7:55 PM near the intersection of Glade Road and Squire Fike Road. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted in a relatively narrow path (about 75 yards wide) in a convergent manner, indicating that the counter-clockwise rotation of the tornado was on the ground.||The tornado…

7. Apr 19, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust of 54 knots (62 MPH) was measured by a mesonet on I-68 National Freeway at US-219 Chestnut Ridge Road (MD014). Thunderstorm winds caused a partial collapse of the salt dome at the Maryland State Highway Administration's Keyser's Ridge facility.

8. Jul 30, 2008Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This was the 3rd segment of a tornado that began in Fayette county Pennsylvania, crossed Preston county West Virginia, and then moved into Garrett county Maryland and dissipated. The tornado entered Garrett county about one and one quarter miles north northwest of Sand Spring, and dissipated just east of Accident. The storm caused EF0 damage in Garrett county with maximum winds estimated at 85 MPH, a path length of nearly four and one quarter miles, and a maximum width of 150 yards. Damage in Friendsville was to 12 homes and 2 businesses with minor roof damage, 2 mobile homes with major damage, and 1 small trailer destroyed. Damage in Accident was to 12 homes with minor roof…

9. Aug 4, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency management reported numerous trees, power poles and power lines down in and around Deep Creek Lake Park.

10. Oct 28, 2011Heavy Snow, Garrett$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    As powerful low pressure moved up the Mid Atlantic seaboard heavy wet snow fell over the higher elevations of Northern West Virginia, Garrett county Maryland, and Western Pennsylvania. Storm totals of 6 to 12 inches of snow fell in 12 hours with some trees and power lines down in parts of Preston county West Virginia, and Garrett county Maryland.

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

101°FAug 7, 1918

All-time low

−40°FJan 13, 1912

Warmest night

75°FJul 10, 1981

Coldest day

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

4.40 inAug 23, 1975

Snowiest day

30.0 inNov 24, 1907

Hottest year

2024mean 52.6°F

Coldest year

1920mean 44.8°F

Wettest year

201870.40 in

Driest year

193029.39 in

Snowiest season

206.9 in2009-10

Station Oakland 1 Se (USC00186620), 2,420 ft elevation, 8.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 20, 2026; 94.1% 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 USC00186620.
• 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.