Funnel Cloud, Sussex
- When
- June 18, 9:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, 1 mi E of Millsboro
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Damaging Wind in Delaware, June 18, 1997
A funnel cloud was sighted just east of Millsboro in Sussex County. It apparently never touched down.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- 2
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.
A funnel cloud was sighted just east of Millsboro in Sussex County. It apparently never touched down. A severe thunderstorm did knock down large tree limbs and wires in and around Seaford. The heavy rain that accompanied the thunderstorm damaged five classrooms on the second floor of Seaford High School. The high school roof was under repair and the water came through a 50 by 50 foot hole in the roof. Numerous books were damaged.
The radar
The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 18 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:26 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Sussex
- When
- June 18, 9:20 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, Seaford
- Coordinates
- 38.630, -75.570
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
- 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
- Damaging Winds in Maryland, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, June 18, 1997
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Virginia, June 18, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Wyoming, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in New York, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Ohio, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, June 18, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, June 18, 1997
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, June 18 to 24, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, June 18, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Maryland, June 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, June 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: 5611937, 5611938.