Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in Delaware

74 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 1.0 a year, 46th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 3 people and injured 66. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in Delaware

  1. F2, Kent County, DelawareJuly 21, 19832 killed, 9 injured
  2. EF3, Sussex County, DelawareApril 1, 20231 killed

The strongest

  1. EF3, Sussex County, DelawareApril 1, 2023EF3, 14.3 mi (23 km)
  2. F3, New Castle County, DelawareApril 28, 1961F3, 0.3 mi (0 km)
  3. EF2, Kent and New Castle counties, DelawareAugust 4, 2020EF2, 35.8 mi (58 km)
  4. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 27, 1993F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  5. EF2, Sussex County, DelawareApril 15, 2019EF2, 6.2 mi (10 km)
  6. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 28, 2004F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  7. F2, Kent County, DelawareJuly 31, 1992F2, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  8. F2, Sussex County, DelawareAugust 12, 1955F2, 2.7 mi (4 km)
  9. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 5, 1979F2, 2.5 mi (4 km)
  10. F2, New Castle County, DelawareJune 9, 1989F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  11. F2, Sussex County, DelawareJuly 18, 1984F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  12. F2, New Castle County, DelawareOctober 18, 1990F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)

The longest paths

  1. EF2, Kent and New Castle counties, DelawareAugust 4, 202035.8 mi (58 km)
  2. F1, New Castle and Kent counties, DelawareJune 7, 198823.0 mi (37 km)
  3. F1, Kent County, DelawareJune 27, 199415.0 mi (24 km)
  4. EF3, Sussex County, DelawareApril 1, 202314.3 mi (23 km)
  5. F1, Sussex County, DelawareAugust 15, 198912.7 mi (20 km)
  6. F1, Sussex County, DelawareJuly 5, 195711.3 mi (18 km)
  7. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 27, 199310.0 mi (16 km)
  8. F0, Kent County, DelawareApril 1, 199310.0 mi (16 km)
  9. F1, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 27, 19937.0 mi (11 km)
  10. EF1, Sussex County, DelawareApril 15, 20196.2 mi (10 km)
  11. EF2, Sussex County, DelawareApril 15, 20196.2 mi (10 km)
  12. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 28, 20045.0 mi (8 km)

The costliest

  1. F2, New Castle County, DelawareSeptember 28, 2004$1.0 million
  2. EF0, New Castle County, DelawareJuly 9, 2015$200,000
  3. EF1, Kent County, DelawareMay 22, 2014$150,000
  4. EF0, Kent County, DelawareSeptember 3, 2012$100,000

The biggest days in Delaware

  1. August 4, 20203tornadoes
  2. July 27, 19943tornadoes
  3. April 1, 19933tornadoes
  4. July 15, 19923tornadoes
  5. July 1, 20212tornadoes
  6. April 15, 20192tornadoes
  7. September 27, 19932tornadoes
  8. July 31, 19922tornadoes
  9. August 4, 19752tornadoes
  10. October 18, 19672tornadoes
  11. June 30, 20251tornadoes
  12. August 8, 20241tornadoes

Every year

Every year of the published record, and above it the 4 tornado tracks surveyed in Delaware so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
2026 preliminary4
20251
20241
202331
20212
20204
201921
20171
20151
201412
20131
20121
20111
20042
19981
19952
199444
19935
19926
19911
19901
198932
1988230
19841
1983129
197925
197731
197621
197553
19731
196747
19641
19622
19611
19581
19572
195511
19541

Every county in Delaware

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 74. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
New Castle County28
Sussex County251
Kent County242

Nearby

Warnings in force in DelawareForecast for your townThe live radar over Delaware

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.