Howard County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 30, 2016Flash Flood$22.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The survey revealed clear signs of flooding both from the Patapsco River and from flash flooding within Ellicott City. Signs of flooding, including damaged pavement, were observed as far up as the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Frederick Road, where Hudson Branch came out of its banks. From this location, eyewitnesses reported seeing water not only in the creek, but moving swiftly down Main Street beginning just after dark. The intersection of Rogers Avenue and Frederick Road is about 140 feet higher in elevation than the lower part of Old Town Ellicott City. Erosion was noted on both the street side and the creek side of homes along Main Street in a portion of the 8500…

2. May 27, 2018Flash Flood$10.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Catastrophic flash flooding occurred in Ellicott City as a result of torrential short-term rainfall of 6-10 inches. One person died during a lull in the flooding when he attempted to help another person evacuate and was swept away. Floodwaters on the lower portion of Main Street in the 8000 block reached the bottom of second floors of businesses. In all, dozens of water rescues were performed, most from buildings.

3. Jun 5, 2024Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office staff conducted a ground survey of storm damage that occurred in the Long Reach village of Columbia, MD, on the evening of Wednesday, June 5, 2024.||Damage was reported in Columbia, MD, in Long Reach village at Phelps Luck Drive, along High Tor Hill, and the 5600 block of Waterloo Road.||The first report of damage was at Phelps Luck Drive. A townhouse development near the intersection of High Tor Hill and Tamar Drive experienced concentrated tornadic damage. Here, approximately two dozen trees were snapped or uprooted, falling in various directions. About a dozen cars parked in the townhouse community parking…

4. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Howard$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts of 61-63 mph were measured by spotters and a mesonet. There were scattered trees down and power outages county-wide. There were many roads blocked due to fallen trees.

5. Sep 24, 2001Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado crossed into Howard County from Laurel and remained on the ground until it dissipated about 1 mile east of Columbia. Several townhomes in North Laurel were damaged and trees were downed along the remainder of its path.

6. Jun 8, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and wires blew down in Columbia, along with minor shingle and siding damage to about a dozen homes. A tree blew down in the 6700 block of Carlinda Avenue. A 12-inch tree limb blew down onto Cradlerock Way. A tree blew down in the 6200 block of Star Path. Trees blew down on Quiet Hours, Overheart Lane, Tinted Hill, and Setting Star. Multiple trees and large tree limbs over 10 inches in diameter blew down near the intersection of Broken Land Parkway and Stevens Forest Road, and onto a residence on Commodore Court. A tree blew down near the intersection of Old Columbia Road and Riverwood Drive. Trees blew down on northbound US-29 Columbia Pike near Exit 21A/MD-108…

7. Feb 14, 2003Winter Storm, Howard$543,000
   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…

8. Aug 27, 2011Tropical Storm, Howard$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several trees were down. A couple trees damaged homes. Route 40 in Ellicott City was blocked by storm debris.

9. Aug 3, 2002Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A home on Talon Court burned to the ground after being struck by lightning. The event time was estimated.

10. Mar 11, 2026Tornado$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A supercell thunderstorm moved through northern Montgomery and northwestern Howard Counties in Maryland during the evening hours of Wednesday March 11, 2026. The bow echo and associated downbursts/thunderstorm wind gusts caused sporadic tree damage from 60-80mph gusts, and created a brief EF-1 tornado, with focused tornadic damage near Cooksville in northwestern Howard County. On March 12, staff from the National Weather Service Baltimore/Washington Weather Forecast Office conducted a ground survey of the storm damage. The survey started near Damascus and extended through northwestern Howard County. There were numerous instances of trees uprooted or snapped, as well as damage…

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 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.
• 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.