Thunderstorm Wind, Sussex
- When
- July 18, 8:40 PM EST to 9:30 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, Reliance to Millsboro
- Measured
- 78 kt (90 mph)
- Coordinates
- 38.630, -75.700
Damaging Wind in Delaware, July 18, 1997
Severe thunderstorms pulled down trees and wires in the southern half of Sussex County. Some of the worst damage occurred around Millsboro when a microburst produced estimated wind gusts of around 90 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
Severe thunderstorms pulled down trees and wires in the southern half of Sussex County. Some of the worst damage occurred around Millsboro when a microburst produced estimated wind gusts of around 90 mph. The thunderstorm winds pushed in the west side of one house. The porch railing on the southwest corner of the porch was blown down. All the porch furniture was blown to the east side of the porch. Elsewhere a vacant chicken was completely blown down. Another chicken house partially collapsed. Many large trees were damaged with several large trees (3 feet in diameter) snapped off and corn fields were flattened.
The radar
The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:40 UTC.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, July 18, 1997
- Hurricane in Alabama, July 18 to 22, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Pennsylvania, July 18, 1997
- Tornado and Flood in Wisconsin, July 18, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Utah, July 18, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, July 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, July 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in New York, July 18, 1997
- Lightning Strikes in Alabama, July 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in District of Columbia, July 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, July 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5614526.