Alert archive / Delaware / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 130, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jul 4, 2026, 7:17 PM EDT for Kent County, Sussex County, Delaware. It was in force for 43 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 4, 2026, 7:17 PM EDT (23:17 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 4, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
- In force
- 43 min
- Issued by
- NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 0.75 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
Counties Kent County, DE, Sussex County, DE
The radar
The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 32 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:19 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The watch it was issued in
The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.
| Issued | Product | Office | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 3:28 PM EDT | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | SPC | 7 hr |
The nearest sounding before it
Washington/Dulle, VA (KIAD), launched 12:00Z, 11.3 hours before the alert went out and 197 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 721 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -310 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1583 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 23 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 19 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 70 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 1.6
The text
As transmitted.
833
WUUS51 KPHI 042317
SVRPHI
DEC001-005-050000-
/O.NEW.KPHI.SV.W.0130.260704T2317Z-260705T0000Z/
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
717 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly NJ has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
Northeastern Sussex County in southern Delaware...
Southeastern Kent County in central Delaware...
* Until 800 PM EDT.
* At 717 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Milford, or
13 miles north of Georgetown, moving northeast at 25 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and penny size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Damage to roofs, siding, trees, and power lines is
possible.
* Locations impacted include...
Milford, Milton, Big Stone Beach, North Cape May, and Villas.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will send your report to the National Weather Service
office in Mount Holly NJ.
&&
LAT...LON 3891 7547 3919 7508 3904 7493 3897 7496
3897 7487 3896 7497 3893 7496 3876 7534
TIME...MOT...LOC 2317Z 233DEG 20KT 3889 7533
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
MPS1 follow-up statement
060
WWUS51 KPHI 042350
SVSPHI
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
750 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
DEC001-005-050000-
/O.EXP.KPHI.SV.W.0130.000000T0000Z-260705T0000Z/
Sussex DE-Kent DE-
750 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHEASTERN SUSSEX AND
SOUTHEASTERN KENT COUNTIES WILL EXPIRE AT 800 PM EDT...
The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and has exited the warned area. Therefore, the warning will
be allowed to expire.
A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until 1100 PM EDT for
central and southern Delaware...and southern New Jersey.
To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will relay your report to the National Weather Service
Mount Holly NJ.
LAT...LON 3891 7547 3919 7508 3904 7493 3897 7496
3897 7487 3896 7497 3893 7496 3876 7534
TIME...MOT...LOC 2350Z 233DEG 20KT 3898 7517
$$
MPSWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jul 4, 3:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 36 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- 1. Dangerous heat and humidity will continue across the region through today. The heat will start to break Sunday and especially Monday. 2. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to impact the area late this afternoon into this evening and have the potential to produce severe weather and localized flash flooding. Additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected Sunday and Monday with a continuing threat for both severe weather and flash flooding.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 4, 3:41 PM EDT, 3 hours 36 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
341 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
.WHAT HAS CHANGED...
Severe Thunderstorm Watch #459 is in effect for the entire
County Warning area until 11PM.
&&
.KEY MESSAGES...
1. Dangerous heat and humidity will continue across the region
through today. The heat will start to break Sunday and especially
Monday.
2. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to impact the area
late this afternoon into this evening and have the potential to
produce severe weather and localized flash flooding. Additional
rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected Sunday and
Monday with a continuing threat for both severe weather and
flash flooding.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
KEY MESSAGE 1...Dangerous heat and humidity will continue across the
region through today. The heat will start to break for Sunday and
especially Monday.
The strong ridging that has been dominating our weather pattern is
finally starting to slowly break down as the surface high
departs to the east. Even so temperatures remain hot as 925mb
temps stay in the 28-30C range this afternoon. Surface temps
have already warmed into the mid 90s to around 100 degrees,
hottest along and southeast of the I-95 corridor. Substantial
mixing has churned up the boundary later with dewpoints dropping
into the mid 60s for most of the area which has lead to lowered
overall Heat Index Values. Nonetheless, we continue to see
extreme heat risk due to the cumulative nature of the extreme
heat across the region.
The Extreme Heat Warning for our entire forecast area
(excluding the New Jersey barrier islands) remains in effect
through 8 PM this evening.
Notably cooler temperatures are expected across the region on
Sunday, with high temperatures generally in the upper 80s across
most of eastern PA and NJ, and low 90s for the urban corridor as
well as Delmarva. However the cumulative impacts of the heat are
still going to likely take a toll of the region. With dewpoints
remaining in the upper 60s to mid 70s, with heat indices
getting into the mid 90s to low 100s from the Philly metro and
south. By Monday, with a frontal boundary draped across the
area, much cooler temperatures are expected. Placement of the
front is uncertain, but north of the front temperatures will
likely only be in the mid 70s, and low to mid 80s to the south.
South of the front where temperatures are still fairly warm, the
forecast remains complicated by the potential for widespread
showers and storms.
KEY MESSAGE 2...Showers and thunderstorms are expected to impact the
area late this afternoon into this evening and have the potential to
produce severe weather and localized flash flooding. Additional
rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected Sunday and Monday
with a continuing threat for both severe weather and flash flooding.
Severe Thunderstorm Watch #459 is in effect for the entire
County Warning area until 11PM.
The mid-level ridge over the area will continue breaking down
this afternoon and evening as a mid and upper level trough
pivots across eastern Canada. Strong vertical mixing has
already set the stage with substantial instability across the
region. The CU field is beginning to bubble up across to the
south and towards the north showing that conditions for Severe
weather are developing rapidly across the area. ML CAPE values
are progged to once again reach 2000+ j/kg with increasing
amounts of shear compared to Friday. 0-3/0-6 km shear values
look to be upwards of 30/40 knots by later today. Steep low and
mid-level lapse rates will result in very high DCAPE values
already showing up on SPC's meso A website. Damaging winds will
be the biggest threat but PWATs close to 2 inches will also
support at least a localized flash flooding threat. The biggest
change in the guidance was that we're expecting the storms to
trigger maybe an hour or so later than initially forecast this
morning with the main threat still in the 7 - 11pm time frame.
We certainly can't rule out any isolated convection that
develops ahead of the more significant forcing so the overall
time of concern is from 3pm to 11pm. Heading into the overnight
period, the threat of severe weather reduces however there is
some signal of potential training of storms leading to heavy
rainfall over the urban corridor. Will be paying very close
attention to rainfall rates as flash flooding is an increasing
concern.
On Sunday, the severe weather threat is generally anticipated to
remain from mainly the Philly metro and points south, but this
will be dependent on frontal placement. However, widespread
showers and storms are also expected north of the front. In
fact, model guidance is indicating PWATs potentially exceeding 2
inches, which is above the 90th percentile for this time of
year and near the daily observed maximum. CAPE also looks to be
tall and "skinny", another setup that favors heavy rainfall.
Given these factors, rainfall rates in storms could exceed 1 to
2 inches per hour and it's possible storms may also train over
the same areas. The WPC has continues to indicated a Slight Risk
(2 of 4) for the I-95 corridor and points west both Sunday and
Monday, with a Marginal Risk (1 of 4) for the remainder of the
area. Storms could last into a good portion of the night Sunday
night. The severe threat should diminish by the overnight but
the flash flood threat may continue.
Unfortunately the aformentioned front is likely to remain
stalled near the area Monday as an upper level trough approaches
from the west. This will lead to additional widespread showers
and storms. The severe weather threat looks to be lower by this
time but the flash flood threat will remain elevated, especially
since the same areas have the potential of being hit with
multiple rounds of showers/storms over successive days.
Even into next Tuesday there could be more showers and storms before
the front should finally push south of the area by Wednesday
leading to the weather trending drier.
&&
.AVIATION /19Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
The following discussion is for KPHL, KPNE, KTTN, KABE, KRDG,
KILG, KMIV, KACY and surrounding areas.
Today...VFR overall. Risk of scattered showers/t-storms after
21z but better chances will arrive in the evening. Winds
generally westerly increasing to 10 kts with some afternoon
gusts up to 20 kts. Moderate confidence.
Tonight...Showers and storms likely to affect most TAF sites in
the evening bringing brief restrictions to IFR along with the
potential for strong wind gusts that could briefly exceed 40
knots. Showers/storms should largely be done by the overnight
period but can't rule out some localized fog/mist forming.
Outlook...
Sunday through Monday night...Scattered to widespread showers
and thunderstorms with sub-VFR conditions expected at times.
Tuesday through Wednesday...Primarily VFR. Isolated to
scattered showers and storms will be possible, especially in the
afternoon hours each day, which could lead to brief periods of
sub-VFR conditions.
&&
.MARINE...
Southwest winds 10-15 kt this afternoon, with some gusts up to 20
knots nearshore by mid to late afternoon with the increasing
seabreeze. Some heavy showers and strong to severe storms could
affect the waters this evening, leading to locally strong winds over
40 knots and reduced visibilities.
Outlook...
No marine headlines are currently anticipated through Wednesday,
with winds below 25 kt and seas remaining below 5 ft. Relatively
benign boating conditions are expected outside of thunderstorms.
However, a cold front drops into the area then stalls and slowly
weakens over the local waters. That front will be the focus for
additional showers and storms possible each day through Tuesday,
with activity being the most widespread Sunday afternoon/evening
and again on Monday afternoon. Reduced visibility and strong winds
remain possible with the strongest storms.
Winds back to the E-NE behind the front tomorrow afternoon and
evening through midweek. This will build seas slightly Monday
afternoon through Wednesday, especially north of Barnegat Light,
though again remaining below 5 ft.
Rip Currents...
For Sunday, winds will be from the east around 10 mph with gusts up
to 15 mph in the afternoon. Breaking waves will be around 1-2 feet
or less. There will be a weak southeast swell with a period around 8
seconds. This results in a LOW risk for the development of dangerous
and life threatening rip currents at the Jersey Shore and at
Delaware Beaches.
For Monday, winds remain east around 10 to 15 kt, with gusts to 20
kt in the afternoon. Resulting increasing NE wind wave could drive
an elevated MODERATE Rip Current Risk along the Jersey Shore, with
LOW risk persisting over the Delaware Beaches.
For specific beach forecasts, visit weather.gov/beach/phi
&&
.CLIMATE...
The record breaking heat is forecast to continue across our area
through today. Temperature records for our climate sites are
listed below:
All Time Record High Temperatures
Site Record / Date
Allentown (ABE) 105 / July 3, 1966
AC Airport (ACY) 106 / June 28, 1969
AC Marina (55N) 104 / August 7, 1918
Georgetown (GED) 104 / July 22 & 23, 2011
Mount Pocono (MPO) 103 / July 3, 1911
Philadelphia (PHL) 106 / August 7, 1918
Reading (RDG) 106 / July 22, 2011
Trenton (TTN) 106 / July 9, 1936 & July 22, 2011
Wilmington (ILG) 107 / August 7, 1918
All Time Record Warmest Low Temperatures
Site Record / Date
Allentown (ABE) 79 / July 15, 1995
AC Airport (ACY) 84 / July 23, 2011
AC Marina (55N) 82 / July 21, 2019
Georgetown (GED) 84 / July 23, 2011
Mount Pocono (MPO) 76 / July 12, 1952
Philadelphia (PHL) 83 / July 24, 2010 & July 23, 2011
Reading (RDG) 81 / August 7, 1918
Trenton (TTN) 84 / August 11, 1895
Wilmington (ILG) 84 / August 7, 1918
Record Number of Consecutive 100+ Degree Days
Site Record / Date
Allentown (ABE) 3 days / July 9-11, 1936 & July 2-4, 1966
AC Airport (ACY) 3 days / July 2-4, 1966 & July 22-24, 2011
AC Marina (55N) 1 day / Occurred multiple times
Georgetown (GED) 2 days / Most recent June 24-25, 2025
Mount Pocono (MPO) 1 day / July 3, 1911
Philadelphia (PHL) 3 days / July 2-4, 1966 & July 8-10, 1993
Reading (RDG) 3 days / Most recent July 21-23, 2011
Trenton (TTN) 3 days / Most recent July 21-23, 2011
Wilmington (ILG) 3 days / Most recent July 9-11, 1936
Record High Temperatures
July 4
Site Record / Year
Allentown (ABE) 102 / 1949
AC Airport (ACY) 102 / 1966
AC Marina (55N) 99 / 1966
Georgetown (GED) 100 / 1966
Mount Pocono (MPO) 99 / 1911
Philadelphia (PHL) 103 / 1966
Reading (RDG) 100 / 1911 & 1966
Trenton (TTN) 99 / 1919, 1999, & 2010
Wilmington (ILG) 102 / 1966
Record Warmest Low Temperatures
July 4
Site Record / Year
Allentown (ABE) 75 / 1999
AC Airport (ACY) 75 / 1974, 1983, 1999, & 2002
AC Marina (55N) 79 / 2002
Georgetown (GED) 75 / 1999 & 2012
Mount Pocono (MPO) 70 / 2002 & 2013
Philadelphia (PHL) 79 / 1919
Reading (RDG) 78 / 1966
Trenton (TTN) 78 / 1966
Wilmington (ILG) 76 / 1999
&&
.PHI WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PA...Extreme Heat Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for PAZ054-
055-060>062-070-071-101>106.
NJ...Extreme Heat Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for NJZ001-
007>010-012>023-027.
Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for NJZ024>026.
DE...Extreme Heat Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for
DEZ001>004.
MD...Extreme Heat Warning until 8 PM EDT this evening for MDZ012-
015-019-020.
MARINE...None.
&&
DISCUSSION...Cooper/Fitzsimmons/MPS/RCM/Staarmann
AVIATION...Cooper/Fitzsimmons/RCM
MARINE...Cooper/Fitzsimmons/MJL/MPS/RCMHazardous weather outlook, Jul 4, 5:03 AM EDT, 14 hours 14 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ 503 AM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026 MDZ012-015-019-020-050915- Kent MD-Queen Annes-Talbot-Caroline- 503 AM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026 ...EXTREME HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Maryland. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Extreme Heat Warning. In addition to the extreme heat, severe thunderstorms are possible late this afternoon and evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday afternoon and evening. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters are encouraged to report significant weather conditions according to standard operating procedures.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jul 4, 7:13 PM EDT, 4 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
713 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0652 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 NE Smithfield Twp 41.04N 75.13W
07/04/2026 Monroe PA 911 Call Center
Multiple trees down around Marshalls Creek.
Time estimated by radar.
&&
MJLLocal storm report, Jul 4, 7:16 PM EDT, 1 minute before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
716 PM EDT Sat Jul 4 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0655 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 WSW Echo Lake 41.05N 75.09W
07/04/2026 Monroe PA Emergency Mngr
Several trees down along and around Frutchey
Dr in Middle Smithfield Twp. Time estimated
by radar.
&&
MJLNearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Delaware, 2026Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.