Tornadoes · United States · Delaware · 2026
EF1 tornado, Kent County, Delaware, August 20, 2026
This EF1 tornado ran 1.3 miles across Kent County on August 20, 2026, touching down at 5:54 PM EDT and reaching 60 yards wide. It killed nobody.
Preliminary. This is NWS PHI's damage survey, filed in the Damage Assessment Toolkit. The rating, the path and the casualties are the survey's and can change while it is revised. The Storm Prediction Center compiles the official record of 2026 from these surveys and publishes it in the spring of 2027; this page moves to that tornado's permanent address when it does.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
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.
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 survey
- Rating, as surveyed
- EF1, preliminary
- Date
- August 20, 2026
- Touchdown
- 5:54 PM EDT (21:54 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:56 PM EDT (21:56 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 1.3 miles (2.1 km)
- Path width
- 60 yards (55 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Kent County
- Touchdown point
- 39.096, -75.740
- Lift-off point
- 39.102, -75.717
- Highest wind the damage implies
- 100 mph
- Surveyed by
- NWS PHI
- Survey last edited
- August 24, 2026
- Record number
- None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.
What the survey found
A tornado occurred in Marydel beginning along the east side of Grygo Rd, about a quarter mile south of the intersection of Mahan Corner Rd, taking down several tree limbs near a residence. It then crossed Grygo Rd and uprooted two very large oak trees that fell on the corner of a home. Additional hardwood trees were uprooted along the property as the tornado headed ENE into a heavily wooded area. Drone footage showed the tornado continued to cut a path through the treeline, snapping large branches and uprooting a variety of trees down a narrow path. While drone footage was unable to confirm the full length of destruction in the wooded area, just on the other side of the wooded area, a residence along Parkers Chapel Rd experienced the total loss of an old barn and shed in addition to several downed trees and branches.
Written by NWS PHI in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.
The damage survey
28 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS PHI, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.
- 50% of roof on entire structure peeled off. Other half damaged
- Several tall wood lighting structures at a baseball field snapped at the base and higher up along the trunk in a convergent pattern
- Additional siding damage to warehouse building
- Exterior walls (possibly concrete bricks) collapsed outward. Trailers pushed over
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
The warnings
15 minutes of warning. NWS PHI issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:39 UTC, 15 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 19:00 UTC and running to 23:46 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18:32 UTC | 19:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | PHI |
| 19:00 UTC | 23:46 UTC | Tornado Watch | PHI |
| 20:16 UTC | 20:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | PHI |
| 21:39 UTC | 22:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | PHI |
| 21:40 UTC | 22:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 22:03 UTC | 22:45 UTC | Tornado Warning | PHI |
| 22:09 UTC | 22:40 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 22:21 UTC | 23:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 22:53 UTC | 00:38 UTC | Flash Flood Warning | PHI |
| 22:57 UTC | 23:17 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:55 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
The surface observations
Cheswold (33N), 17 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:55 UTC | 77 | 77 | 360° 17 kt | 1012.2 | ||
| 20:10 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 5 kt | 22 | 1011.5 | BR |
| 20:30 UTC | 77 | 77 | 1010.8 | |||
| 20:50 UTC | 78.8 | 78.8 | 80° 8 kt | 1010.8 | ||
| 20:55 UTC | 78.8 | 78.8 | 90° 10 kt | 1010.8 | ||
| 21:35 UTC | 77 | 77 | 0° 0 kt | 1010.5 | ||
| 21:55 UTC | 77 | 77 | 60° 4 kt | 1010.2 | ||
| 22:15 UTC | 77 | 77 | 340° 15 kt | 20 | 1010.5 | BR |
| 22:35 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 330° 6 kt | 1010.5 | BR | |
| 22:55 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 300° 4 kt | 1011.2 | BR | |
| 23:15 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 270° 5 kt | 1011.5 | BR | |
| 23:35 UTC | 75.2 | 75.2 | 4 kt | 1011.9 | ||
| 23:50 UTC | 73.4 | 73.4 | 300° 6 kt | 12 | 1012.9 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Dover AFB radar (KDOX), 39 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:52 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 UTC | RAIN 1.92 | 2 S Smyrna Landing | Kent, DE | DEOS Smyrna recorded 1.92 inches of rain over 3 hours from 1-4pm. |
| 21:54 UTC | TORNADO | 1 S Marydel | Kent, DE | A tornado occurred in Marydel beginning along the east side of Grygo Rd, about a quarter mile south of the intersection of Mahan Corner Rd, taking down several tree limbs near a residence. It then crossed Grygo Rd and up |
| 21:59 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Se Hartly | Kent, DE | Metal roof panels blown off of a single wide mobile home along Route 8 near Crystal Road. No other notable damage nearby. Time estimated from radar. |
| 22:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Hartly | Kent, DE | Picture sent in where numerous trees were uprooted and some split off their base. Time estimated from radar. |
| 22:02 UTC | TORNADO | Hazlettville | Kent, DE | A brief tornado occurred just east of the community of Hazlettville, primarily impacting a farm and adjacent fields along Bryants Corner Road. The tornado began in a field just east of a residential area, evidenced by so |
| 22:02 UTC | TORNADO | Hazlettville | Kent, DE | A brief tornado occurred just east of the community of Hazlettville, primarily impacting a farm and adjacent fields along Bryants Corner Road. The tornado began in a field just east of a residential area, evidenced by so |
| 22:05 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Wyoming | Kent, DE | Report of mostly minor tree damage along Allabands Mill Road upstream of where the Dover tornado began. Several large tree branches down and wind damage to a large trailer. Radar data suggests this damaged occurred from |
| 22:09 UTC | TORNADO | 2 N Wyoming | Kent, DE | A tornado formed over the open fields west of Wyoming Mill Rd near Riverside Rd, scarring the crops before moving to the tree line east of Wyoming Mill Rd, snapping several branches and tree tops. The tornado then made d |
| 22:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Dover | Kent, DE | Lots of branches of different sizes, some over 2 foot diameter, down on multiple roads in the area. Time estimated from radar. |
| 22:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Marydel | Kent, DE | Downed tree, took down power pole and wires IAO 1900 blk of Busic Church Rd; time estimated from radar. |
| 22:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Dover | Kent, DE | Significant structural damage to the Kraft Food Facility. Tornado possible. Time estimated from radar. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2026 tornado in DelawareEvery tornado in Delaware since 1950Warnings in force in Delaware nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of August 20, 2026
10 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 20 | 4:09 PM EDT | EF1 | Kent, DE | 3.2 | 100 | |||
| August 20 | 4:24 PM EDT | EF2 | York, PA | 1.1 | 100 | 1 | ||
| August 20 | 4:30 PM EDT | EF1 | Lancaster, PA | 3.0 | 100 | |||
| August 20 | 4:37 PM EDT | EF0 | Lancaster, PA | 0.3 | 75 | |||
| August 20 | 4:38 PM EDT | EF0 | Lancaster, PA | 0.5 | 125 | |||
| August 20 | 3:52 PM CDT | Unrated | Mobile, AL | 3.1 | 0 | |||
| August 20 | 5:40 PM EDT | EF0 | Chester, PA | 0.2 | 30 | |||
| August 20 | 5:41 PM EDT | EF1 | Queen Anne's, MD | 0.5 | 70 | |||
| August 20 | 6:02 PM EDT | EF0 | Kent, DE | 0.6 | 100 | |||
| August 20 | 7:27 PM CDT | EF0 | Hutchinson, SD | 0.1 | 25 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.
Sources
NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.