States › Maryland › Harford County

Harford County, Maryland

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

FIPS 24025 · 262,977 residents (2021) · 437 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 84Tornado · 23Flood · 232Wind · 610Winter · 120

Harford County within Maryland. 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.

The NCEI record lists 1,197 events for Harford County, Maryland, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 273.8 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Maryland figure of 257.5, and 45.5 per 10,000 residents against 40.6 statewide.

33 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 7 deaths and 105 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $32M and crop damage at $4.7M.

FEMA has designated the county in 20 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Winter Storm (emergency, 24 Jan 2026).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 353 claims since 1978, of which 216 were paid, totalling $4.0M (about $18K per paid claim). FEMA counts 534 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($51M a year across 18 hazards).

39 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

33events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,197events since 19507 deaths, 105 injuries recorded

20disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

353NFIP flood claims$4.0M paid

Compared with Maryland and the United States

Measure	Harford County	Maryland	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,197	25,002	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	273.8	257.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	45.5	40.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	33	758	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	7	228	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$32M	$1.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.3	4.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$18K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	9.4	8.2	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: 1

Wind: 5

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 3

Hail: 2Tornado: 1Wind: 17

Hail: 10Tornado: 8Flood: 5Wind: 35Winter: 18Tropical: 2Heat: 8Cold: 1Drought: 7Lightning: 5Fog: 1Other: 1

Hail: 34Tornado: 5Flood: 33Wind: 90Winter: 54Tropical: 2Heat: 16Cold: 13Wildfire: 1Lightning: 10Fog: 5Other: 15

Hail: 25Tornado: 6Flood: 118Wind: 287Winter: 48Tropical: 1Heat: 14Cold: 8Lightning: 3Fog: 14

Hail: 11Tornado: 1Flood: 76Wind: 173Lightning: 1

11950s51960s61970s201980s1011990s2782000s5242010s2622020s

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

Trend: 903 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 266 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

Wind610

Flood232

Winter120

Hail84

Heat38

Tornado23

Cold22

Fog20

Lightning19

Other16

Drought7

Tropical5

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	610	1	6.3%	detail
■ Flood	232	2	6.5%	detail
■ Winter	120	1	2.6%	detail
■ Hail	84	—	5.3%	detail
■ Heat	38	2	2.9%
■ Tornado	23	—	5.3%	detail
■ Cold	22	—	2.2%
■ Fog	20	—	1.8%
■ Lightning	19	1	6.1%
■ Other	16	—	2.0%
■ Drought	7	—	1.6%
■ Tropical	5	—	3.5%
■ Wildfire	1	—	5.0%

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
31 Aug 2018	Flash Flood	Flood	—	—	—	2	—	County
8 Mar 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	$10K	—	1	—	County
14 Jul 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
2 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
25 Jan 2004	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
1 Aug 2006	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
30 Jul 2006	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	50	Forecast zone
16 Sep 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$2.6M	—	—	15	County
29 Jun 1980	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	10	County
18 Aug 2017	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	10	County
18 Sep 2003	Tropical Storm	Tropical	—	$13M	$50K	—	5	Forecast zone
8 Jun 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	3	County
1 Jun 2012	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$300K	—	—	2	County
29 Oct 2012	High Wind	Wind	60 mph	$1.1M	—	—	1	Forecast zone
6 Jun 2005	Lightning	Lightning	—	$75K	—	—	1	County
2 Nov 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$20K	—	—	1	County
7 Aug 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	90 mph	$20K	—	—	1	County
11 Jan 2000	High Wind	Wind	—	$10K	—	—	1	Forecast zone
31 Mar 1987	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County
8 Jun 1990	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	—	—	—	1	County

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 Jan 2026	EM-3634	Emergency	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
26 Mar 2020	DR-4491	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3430	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
4 Mar 2016	DR-4261	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
20 Nov 2012	DR-4091	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
28 Oct 2012	EM-3349	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
5 Oct 2011	DR-4038	Major disaster	Flood	Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee	Public assistance
16 Sep 2011	DR-4034	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
27 Aug 2011	EM-3335	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
6 May 2010	DR-1910	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms	Public assistance
19 Feb 2010	DR-1875	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
13 Sep 2005	EM-3251	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
19 Sep 2003	DR-1492	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Isabel	Individual assistance, Public assistance
14 Mar 2003	EM-3179	Emergency	Severe Storm	Snow	Public assistance
24 Sep 1999	DR-1303	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations	Individual assistance, Public assistance
11 Jan 1996	DR-1081	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96 (Severe Snow Storm)	Public assistance
16 Mar 1993	EM-3100	Emergency	Snowstorm	Severe Snowfall & Winter Storm	Public assistance
26 Jan 1977	DR-524	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Ice Conditions	Individual assistance
23 Jun 1972	DR-341	Major disaster	Flood	Tropical Storm Agnes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Aug 1971	DR-309	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	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 Harford County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978353

Paid claims216

Total paid$4.0M

Average paid claim$18K

Repetitive-loss properties102 severe

Residential policies in force5340.6% of 92,510 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2025	6	5	$96,311	$19,262
2024	10	8	$275,997	$34,500
2023	1	0	$0	—
2022	2	2	$15,394	$7,697
2021	5	4	$26,385	$6,596
2020	1	0	$0	—
2019	1	1	$738	$738
2018	19	11	$372,174	$33,834
2017	5	3	$8,483	$2,828
2016	2	0	$0	—
2015	4	0	$0	—
2014	11	5	$58,364	$11,673
2013	4	1	$398	$398
2012	8	6	$33,177	$5,530
2011	16	8	$347,277	$43,410
2010	5	3	$8,700	$2,900
2009	5	2	$12,900	$6,450
2008	1	0	$0	—
2007	1	0	$0	—
2006	7	5	$68,845	$13,769
2005	3	2	$18,184	$9,092
2004	10	8	$82,189	$10,274
2003	102	62	$2,023,658	$32,640
2002	1	0	$0	—
2000	2	0	$0	—

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 Lowscore 72.5 of 100

Expected annual loss$51MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$29,887,863
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$5,402,214
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$3,854,494
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$3,490,725
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$2,022,972
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,995,754
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$1,238,964
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,151,100
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$994,414
Winter weather	Relatively High	$976,087
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$179,677
Coastal flooding	Relatively Low	$108,910
Hail	Very Low	$53,859
Wildfire	Very Low	$11,572
Landslide	Very Low	$2,181
Avalanche	Very Low	$3

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 miles39

Tracks within 50 miles12

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	90 mi	58 mph
Ida	2021	41 mi	40 mph
Sandy	2012	26 mi	81 mph
Ernesto	2006	33 mi	46 mph
Jeanne	2004	100 mi	40 mph
Bertha	1996	86 mi	69 mph
Danielle	1992	22 mi	46 mph
Doria	1971	90 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1963	93 mi	46 mph
Brenda	1960	79 mi	58 mph
Connie	1955	34 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	32 mi	40 mph
Hazel	1954	66 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	43 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	89 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	93 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	72 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	27 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	51 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	75 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	25 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	91 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	47 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1904	76 mi	75 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1903	87 mi	81 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

21078 81
21001 73
21085 51
21014 23
21040 22
21050 21
21009 19
21034 19
21047 16
21015 8
21084 5
21154 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 Harford County, MD?

NCEI records 84 hail events in Harford County since 1950, in 29 different years; that is about 1.1 recorded events a year. 21 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Harford County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 23 tornadoes in Harford County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Harford County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 20 declarations since 1953.

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

353 NFIP claims since 1978, 216 of them paid, for $4.0M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Harford County compare with the rest of Maryland?

273.8 recorded events per 100 square miles against 257.5 statewide, and 1.3 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 4.1. 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.