Somerset County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 29, 2012Coastal Flood, Somerset$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water levels reached 3.0 feet to 4.5 feet above normal adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay resulting in moderate to severe coastal flooding. The town of Crisfield experienced severe flooding...with some areas inundated with 5 feet of water. Numerous homes and business were flooded. Water levels were above those experienced in 1999 with the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, and were likely enhanced by runoff from the very heavy rainfall associated with Sandy. The bulk of the damage in Somerset county occurred in Crisfield, and the nearby town of Fairmount.

2. Sep 1, 2006High Wind, Somerset$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Ernesto along the Mid Atlantic coast combined with strong high pressure over New England produced very strong winds across the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore. Sustained winds in mph ranged from the lower 40s to near 50 with maximum gusts ranging from the mid 50s to as high as the mid 70s. Some higher sustained winds included 49 mph (43 knots) at Ocean City, and 45 mph (39 knots) at Salisbury. Some higher maximum gusts included 75 mph (65 knots) at Bishops Head, and 70 mph (61 knots) at Smith Island. The high winds caused numerous downed trees and power outages, along with significant structural damage.

3. Oct 9, 2016Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain caused an extended period of significant flooding across portions of the county. Several roads were impassable or closed for a couple of days, and some homes and businesses were impacted.

4. Sep 18, 2003Tropical Storm, Somerset$346,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Isabel was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Isabel produced tropical storm force sustained winds and wind gusts over the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore. Isabel made landfall near Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina, tracked northwest into central Virginia just west of Richmond, then continued northward into western Pennsylvania. The highest sustained wind speed recorded was 45 mph at Cambridge Maryland in Dorchester county. Other sustained wind speeds were 41 mph at Ocean City (OXB), and 37 mph at Salisbury (SBY). The highest gusts recorded were 62 mph at Hurlock in Dorchester county, 60 mph at Ocean Pines in Worcester county, and 57…

5. Aug 4, 2022Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A waterspout touched down in the Chesapeake Bay just to the southwest of Smith Island before moving ashore and capsizing several boats longer than 25 feet in Sheep Pen Gut. After crossing Sheep Pen Gut, the tornado crossed Marsh Road just to the northwest of Calvary Church, where power poles were downed. The tornado tracked to the north northeast and reached high-end EF-1 intensity with estimated winds of 110 mph when it arrived at the intersection of Marsh Road and Smith Island Road. The tornado ripped the roof off of Island Time Bed and Breakfast and another block building right after this point. In addition, a mobile home just north of these two buildings was completely…

6. Sep 15, 1999Hurricane (Typhoon), Somerset$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd was a Category 1 hurricane as it crossed the Wakefield WFO county warning area. Tropical storm force wind gusts occurred over the northwest quadrant of the storm over portions of the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore. The highest sustained wind speed recorded was 36 mph at Ocean City Maryland (OXB). The highest sustained wind speed recorded at Salisbury (SBY) was 32 mph. The highest gusts recorded were 52 mph at Ocean City, and 48 mph at Salisbury. Few trees and power lines were blown down across the Lower Maryland Eastern Shore resulting in scattered power outages. Storm surge flooding of 5 to 7 feet occurred over central portions of the Chesapeake Bay inundating…

7. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Somerset$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm winds downed and uprooted several trees and power lines, produced significant structural damage, and caused power outages across the county. Wind gust of 45 knots (52 mph) was measured at (2 W) Marion Station.

8. Oct 28, 2021Coastal Flood, Somerset$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong low pressure tracked from the Middle Mississippi Valley east northeast toward the Northeast United States from Thursday, October 28th into Saturday, October 30th. This system produced very strong east southeast winds, then strong south to southwest winds through the period. This caused moderate to major (tidal) coastal flooding across portions of Somerset county adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay. Crisfield reached 5.12 feet MLLW at 724 pm on Friday, October 29. Only 3 residents were displaced from their homes. The hardest hit location was Crisfield. Most homes and businesses had been elevated since Sandy and only those that weren���t experienced damage with this event.…

9. Aug 16, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees down or uprooted. Some roofs blown off and windows blown out.

10. Dec 21, 2012Coastal Flood, Somerset$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Water levels reached 3.0 feet to 4.0 feet above normal adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay resulting in moderate to severe coastal flooding. Most roads in Crisfield were flooded and impassable to small vehicles.

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°FJul 23, 2011

All-time low

−8°FJan 18, 1957

Warmest night

83°FJul 20, 2013

Coldest day

8°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

8.01 inSep 1, 2002

Snowiest day

11.7 inFeb 2, 1996

Hottest year

2012mean 60.4°F

Coldest year

1958mean 54.0°F

Wettest year

197969.63 in

Driest year

200733.51 in

Snowiest season

51.8 in1995-96

Station Salisbury-wicomico Regional Airport (USW00093720), 47 ft elevation, 19.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 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 USW00093720.
• 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.