Delaware, 1998
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
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.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1998 was 158 against 115 in 1997.
Counties with the most recorded events
| County | Events in 1998 |
|---|---|
| Kent County | 42 |
| New Castle County | 39 |
| Sussex County | 16 |
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1998 | New Castle | Heat | — | — | 1 | — |
| 20 Jul 1998 | New Castle | Heat | — | — | — | 6 |
| 4 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Coastal Flood | — | $700,000 | — | 5 |
| 20 Jul 1998 | Forecast zone | Heat | — | — | — | 2 |
| 7 Sep 1998 | Sussex | Lightning | — | — | — | 1 |
| 26 Jun 1998 | Kent | Thunderstorm Wind | 81 mph | $1,500,000 | — | — |
| 4 Feb 1998 | Forecast zone | Coastal Flood | — | $1,000,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jan 1998 | Forecast zone | Coastal Flood | — | $800,000 | — | — |
| 28 Jan 1998 | Forecast zone | Coastal Flood | — | $500,000 | — | — |
| 18 Aug 1998 | Sussex | Lightning | — | $175,000 | — | — |
| 13 Aug 1998 | Sussex | Tornado | F0 | — | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1998
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Feb 1998 | DR-1205 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms, High Winds, And Flooding | 1 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1998 date of loss
783 NFIP claims, 582 of them paid, for $6,164,669.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (29 Sep 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 30 Sep 2026.