States › Maryland › Montgomery County

Montgomery 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 24031 · 1,054,827 residents (2021) · 493 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 191Tornado · 28Flood · 444Wind · 927Winter · 127

Montgomery 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 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 1,908 events for Montgomery County, Maryland, between 1950 and 2026; damaging wind account for the largest share.

That is 386.9 events per 100 square miles, above the Maryland figure of 257.5, and 18.1 per 10,000 residents against 40.6 statewide.

55 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 21 deaths and 77 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $82M and crop damage at $18M.

FEMA has designated the county in 21 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 776 claims since 1978, of which 457 were paid, totalling $4.8M (about $10K per paid claim). FEMA counts 2,029 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($126M a year across 18 hazards).

35 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.

55events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

1,908events since 195021 deaths, 77 injuries recorded

21disaster declarationslast 24 Jan 2026

776NFIP flood claims$4.8M paid

Compared with Maryland and the United States

Measure	Montgomery County	Maryland	US
Recorded events since 1950	1,908	25,002	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	386.9	257.5	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	18.1	40.6	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	55	758	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	21	228	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$82M	$1.5B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	0.7	4.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$10K	$23K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	10.1	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: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 6Tornado: 1Wind: 8

Hail: 3Tornado: 1Wind: 18

Hail: 10Wind: 21

Hail: 25Tornado: 6Flood: 18Wind: 62Winter: 20Heat: 8Cold: 2Drought: 10Lightning: 7Other: 7

Hail: 67Tornado: 6Flood: 54Wind: 159Winter: 60Tropical: 1Heat: 20Cold: 14Drought: 3Lightning: 25Fog: 16Other: 27

Hail: 65Tornado: 6Flood: 220Wind: 379Winter: 47Tropical: 1Heat: 9Cold: 10Lightning: 1Fog: 21

Hail: 15Tornado: 6Flood: 152Wind: 279Lightning: 9

31950s151960s221970s311980s1651990s4522000s7592010s4612020s

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

Trend: 1,370 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 454 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

Wind927

Flood444

Hail191

Winter127

Lightning42

Heat37

Fog37

Other34

Tornado28

Cold26

Drought13

Tropical2

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	927	6	9.5%	detail
■ Flood	444	3	12.5%	detail
■ Hail	191	—	12.1%	detail
■ Winter	127	2	2.8%	detail
■ Lightning	42	1	13.4%
■ Heat	37	7	2.9%
■ Fog	37	—	3.4%
■ Other	34	1	4.3%
■ Tornado	28	—	6.4%	detail
■ Cold	26	1	2.6%
■ Drought	13	—	2.9%
■ Tropical	2	—	1.4%

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
13 Jul 1997	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	2	25	Forecast zone
26 Jun 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	2	6	County
27 Jun 2015	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$10K	—	2	—	County
2 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	2	—	Forecast zone
1 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.0M	—	1	4	County
8 Oct 2005	Heavy Rain	Other	—	$20K	—	1	1	County
31 Oct 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$1.5M	—	1	—	County
18 Jun 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	63 mph	$300K	—	1	—	County
23 Jun 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$3K	—	1	—	County
11 Jun 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	60 mph	$1K	—	1	—	County
25 Jun 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
22 Jul 2002	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
14 Feb 2003	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
4 Dec 2003	Winter Storm	Winter	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
4 Feb 2007	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
24 Jun 2010	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
25 Jul 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	1	—	County
5 Feb 2010	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$5K	—	—	8	Forecast zone
4 Jul 1999	Heat	Heat	—	—	—	—	6	Forecast zone
5 Jun 2024	Tornado	Tornado	EF1	$5.0M	—	—	5	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
2 Aug 2012	DR-4075	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Straight-Line Winds	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
2 Jul 2006	DR-1652	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	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
10 Apr 2000	DR-1324	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	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
28 Aug 1989	DR-839	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms & High Winds	Public assistance
4 Oct 1975	DR-489	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public 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 Montgomery County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978776

Paid claims457

Total paid$4.8M

Average paid claim$10K

Repetitive-loss properties6022 severe

Residential policies in force2,0290.8% of 257,826 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	1	0	$0	—
2025	21	15	$326,084	$21,739
2024	8	3	$21,173	$7,058
2023	9	4	$74,391	$18,598
2022	8	4	$48,153	$12,038
2021	33	24	$714,259	$29,761
2020	43	24	$175,518	$7,313
2019	33	26	$299,381	$11,515
2018	32	15	$110,650	$7,377
2017	17	6	$15,652	$2,609
2016	29	14	$147,707	$10,551
2015	16	4	$14,662	$3,665
2014	55	35	$250,949	$7,170
2013	13	10	$49,047	$4,905
2012	25	12	$47,344	$3,945
2011	27	12	$257,649	$21,471
2010	37	18	$254,303	$14,128
2009	10	6	$21,426	$3,571
2008	7	3	$12,950	$4,317
2007	3	2	$16,039	$8,020
2006	43	21	$534,880	$25,470
2005	5	1	$3,471	$3,471
2004	5	1	$10,212	$10,212
2003	15	6	$17,943	$2,990
2002	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 Moderatescore 91.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$126MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$71,016,735
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$12,497,244
Heat wave	Relatively High	$10,939,214
Earthquake	Relatively Moderate	$8,254,052
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$6,414,891
Tornado	Relatively Moderate	$4,335,127
Strong wind	Relatively High	$4,312,128
Hail	Relatively High	$3,225,330
Winter weather	Very High	$2,369,133
Lightning	Relatively High	$1,566,786
Drought	Relatively Moderate	$1,197,304
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	$266,029
Wildfire	Very Low	$12,601
Landslide	Relatively Low	$10,683
Coastal flooding	Very Low	$218

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 miles35

Tracks within 50 miles10

Hurricane strength within 50 miles1

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Ida	2021	97 mi	40 mph
Sandy	2012	74 mi	63 mph
Hanna	2008	96 mi	52 mph
Ernesto	2006	32 mi	46 mph
Isabel	2003	99 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1996	83 mi	69 mph
Danielle	1992	77 mi	40 mph
David	1979	70 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1963	84 mi	46 mph
Connie	1955	32 mi	58 mph
Diane	1955	36 mi	46 mph
Hazel	1954	73 mi	81 mph
Able	1952	26 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	65 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1945	59 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1944	70 mi	40 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1943	33 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	16 mi	46 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1933	30 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	59 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	95 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1928	58 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	40 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	72 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1896	74 mi	69 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

20753 79
20817 72
20906 70
20902 61
20854 53
20815 35
20814 32
20852 31
20895 30
20816 29
20901 26
20878 23
20853 21
20842 19
20904 19
20910 19
20818 13
20874 13
20855 10
20905 10
20912 10
20850 9
20851 9
20886 8
20832 6
20871 5
20882 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 Montgomery County, MD?

NCEI records 191 hail events in Montgomery County since 1950, in 44 different years; that is about 2.5 recorded events a year. 33 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Montgomery County had a tornado?

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

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Montgomery County?

24 Jan 2026: Severe Winter Storm, a emergency declaration for winter storm. The county appears in 21 declarations since 1953.

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

776 NFIP claims since 1978, 457 of them paid, for $4.8M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

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

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

How does Montgomery County compare with the rest of Maryland?

386.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 257.5 statewide, and 0.7 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 1 Oct 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 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.