States › Delaware › New Castle County

New Castle County, Delaware

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 10003 · 571,708 residents (2021) · 426 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 73Tornado · 28Flood · 278Wind · 608Winter · 213

New Castle County within Delaware. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 1,543 storm events in New Castle County, Delaware, led by damaging wind.

That is 361.9 events per 100 square miles, above the Delaware figure of 241.8, and 27.0 per 10,000 residents against 47.0 statewide.

50 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 19 deaths and 349 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $59M and crop damage at $1.0M.

FEMA has designated the county in 17 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Remnants Of Hurricane Ida (major disaster, 24 Oct 2021).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,575 claims since 1978, of which 1,191 were paid, totalling $52M (about $43K per paid claim). FEMA counts 1,599 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively High" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively High" ($202M a year across 18 hazards).

50 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 1 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

50events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,543events since 195019 deaths, 349 injuries recorded

17disaster declarationslast 24 Oct 2021

1,575NFIP flood claims$52M paid

Compared with Delaware and the United States

Measure	New Castle County	Delaware	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,543	4,711	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	361.9	241.8	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	27.0	47.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	50	123	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	19	36	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$59M	$162M	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.8	6.3	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$43K	$19K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	13.8	2.5	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 2

Tornado: 5Wind: 6

Hail: 2Tornado: 6Wind: 20

Hail: 7Tornado: 4Wind: 17

Hail: 4Tornado: 4Flood: 28Wind: 55Winter: 20Heat: 26Cold: 4Drought: 17Lightning: 3Fog: 5Other: 16

Hail: 14Tornado: 1Flood: 92Wind: 145Winter: 72Tropical: 10Heat: 30Cold: 17Drought: 31Wildfire: 2Lightning: 30Fog: 13Other: 19

Hail: 38Tornado: 2Flood: 107Wind: 207Winter: 90Tropical: 2Heat: 26Cold: 9Drought: 1Wildfire: 2Lightning: 12Fog: 5Other: 25

Hail: 8Tornado: 4Flood: 51Wind: 158Winter: 31Tropical: 1Heat: 13Cold: 1Lightning: 4Fog: 18Other: 1

21950s111960s281970s281980s1821990s4762000s5262010s2902020s

Recorded events in New Castle County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 995 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 468 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind608

Flood278

Winter213

Heat95

Hail73

Other61

Drought49

Lightning49

Fog41

Cold31

Tornado28

Tropical13

Wildfire4

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	608	3	33.2%	detail
■ Flood	278	4	45.2%	detail
■ Winter	213	6	33.4%	detail
■ Heat	95	4	31.4%
■ Hail	73	—	45.9%	detail
■ Other	61	—	15.5%
■ Drought	49	—	23.7%
■ Lightning	49	—	33.8%
■ Fog	41	—	27.7%
■ Cold	31	2	28.2%
■ Tornado	28	—	34.6%	detail
■ Tropical	13	—	20.0%
■ Wildfire	4	—	23.5%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
25 Feb 2007	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	2	12	Forecast zone
4 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	2	5	Forecast zone
16 Sep 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$8.0M	—	2	1	County
27 Aug 2011	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	2	—	County
21 Jan 2012	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	1	8	Forecast zone
9 Feb 2010	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$3.0M	—	1	4	Forecast zone
6 Feb 2007	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	1	Forecast zone
30 Jun 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	1	1	County
8 Mar 2008	Strong Wind	Wind	48 mph	$23K	—	1	—	Forecast zone
16 Jul 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	1	—	County
25 Jun 1998	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
26 Jan 2007	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
13 Feb 2007	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
26 Jan 2011	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
15 Jul 2013	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
20 Jan 2000	Heavy Snow	Winter	—	—	—	—	30	Forecast zone
10 Sep 2016	Excessive Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	21	Forecast zone
25 Jan 2000	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	—	20	Forecast zone
21 Jan 2007	Winter Weather	Winter	—	—	—	—	15	Forecast zone
27 Jan 2009	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$50K	—	—	10	Forecast zone

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
24 Oct 2021	DR-4627	Major disaster	Hurricane	Remnants Of Hurricane Ida	Public assistance
2 Oct 2020	DR-4566	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Isaias	Public assistance
5 Apr 2020	DR-4526	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3449	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
16 Nov 2012	DR-4090	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
29 Oct 2012	EM-3357	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
28 Aug 2011	EM-3336	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
31 Mar 2010	DR-1896	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	Public assistance
30 Sep 2005	EM-3263	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
15 Nov 2004	DR-1572	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding From The Remnants Of	Public assistance
23 Sep 2003	DR-1495	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Henri	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Sep 2003	DR-1494	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isabel	Individual assistance, Public assistance
20 Mar 2003	EM-3183	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
21 Sep 1999	DR-1297	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
12 Jan 1996	DR-1082	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
18 Mar 1993	EM-3111	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
18 Aug 1965	DR-207	Major disaster	Drought	Water Shortage	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in New Castle County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,575

Paid claims1,191

Total paid$52M

Average paid claim$43K

Repetitive-loss properties14023 severe

Residential policies in force1,5990.9% of 181,854 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	4	1	$9,267	$9,267
2025	8	3	$19,603	$6,534
2024	11	6	$344,511	$57,418
2023	10	7	$73,147	$10,450
2022	6	0	$0	—
2021	106	96	$8,006,277	$83,399
2020	56	44	$1,347,284	$30,620
2019	2	1	$112	$112
2018	11	11	$161,465	$14,679
2017	6	3	$42,896	$14,299
2016	9	2	$3,572	$1,786
2015	6	4	$8,149	$2,037
2014	45	30	$657,678	$21,923
2013	24	12	$185,485	$15,457
2012	65	47	$814,321	$17,326
2011	169	128	$3,897,029	$30,446
2010	44	36	$1,077,744	$29,937
2009	8	1	$9,979	$9,979
2008	18	15	$113,017	$7,534
2007	16	10	$83,688	$8,369
2006	20	12	$411,814	$34,318
2005	6	4	$20,646	$5,162
2004	135	111	$6,286,540	$56,635
2003	263	221	$18,138,163	$82,073
2002	3	2	$1,663	$831

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Highscore 95.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$202MRelatively High

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$150,489,142
Cold wave	Relatively High	$10,466,354
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$9,240,071
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$7,052,684
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$6,953,865
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$6,493,127
Coastal flooding	Relatively High	$3,732,726
Winter weather	Very High	$2,487,681
Strong wind	Relatively High	$2,041,126
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,287,925
Ice storm	Relatively High	$913,452
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$847,209
Hail	Very Low	$97,434
Wildfire	Very Low	$94,808
Landslide	Relatively Low	$11,670

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles50

Tracks within 50 miles14

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	82 mi	58 mph
Ida	2021	16 mi	40 mph
Fay	2020	67 mi	58 mph
Isaias	2020	96 mi	63 mph
Sandy	2012	37 mi	81 mph
Irene	2011	67 mi	69 mph
Hanna	2008	67 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	60 mi	46 mph
Jeanne	2004	74 mi	40 mph
Bertha	1996	74 mi	69 mph
Danielle	1992	14 mi	46 mph
Doria	1971	77 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1963	100 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	90 mi	58 mph
Brenda	1960	63 mi	58 mph
Connie	1955	61 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	43 mi	46 mph
Hazel	1954	93 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	78 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	98 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	66 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	95 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	62 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	20 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	41 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

19804 318
19720 145
19802 121
19713 118
19702 104
19805 103
19801 93
19709 78
19810 77
19711 68
19808 65
19803 53
19707 47
19736 34
19806 26
19807 23
19706 22
19809 19
19701 15
19732 13
19703 12
19731 8
19899 7
19714 5
19734 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in New Castle County, DE?

NCEI records 73 hail events in New Castle County since 1950, in 30 different years; that is about 0.9 recorded events a year. 6 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has New Castle County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 28 tornadoes in New Castle County since 1950, 8 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for New Castle County?

24 Oct 2021: Remnants Of Hurricane Ida, a major disaster declaration for hurricane. The county appears in 17 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in New Castle County, and how much was paid?

1,575 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,191 of them paid, for $52M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is New Castle County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively High" for overall risk, "Relatively High" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does New Castle County compare with the rest of Delaware?

361.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 241.8 statewide, and 2.8 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 6.3. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.