Funnel Cloud, Sussex
- When
- September 10, 4:45 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, 1 mi S of Ellendale
- Coordinates
- 38.683, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Damaging Wind in Delaware, September 10, 1997
A severe thunderstorm knocked down several billboards just north of Georgetown. The same thunderstorm also knocked over a large oak tree onto a house.
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 severe thunderstorm knocked down several billboards just north of Georgetown. The same thunderstorm also knocked over a large oak tree onto a house. The tree damaged about 12 feet of the house's roof. No injuries were reported. The same thunderstorm also produced a funnel cloud as it approached Ellendale, but it apparently did not touch down.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Thunderstorm Wind, Sussex
- When
- September 10, 4:45 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex County, 3 mi N of Georgetown
- Coordinates
- 38.730, -75.380
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
- Hail and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, September 10, 1997
- Tornado in Virginia, September 10, 1997
- Tornadoes in Virginia, September 10, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Wyoming, September 10, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, September 10 to 11, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Virginia, September 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Maryland, September 10 to 11, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, September 10, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, September 10, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, September 10, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, September 10, 1997
- Flash Flood in Indiana, September 10, 1997
More
Every storm in Delaware in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Delaware, September 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: 5620108, 5620187.