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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Greenbelt, MD

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

32 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Greenbelt, Maryland since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Zeta in 2020. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
29

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
110

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

3 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Greenbelt

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Greenbelt, Maryland, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020ZetaOct 2956 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 438 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
2012SandyOct 3067 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 659 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2006ErnestoSep 210 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1996BerthaJul 1362 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2659 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1963Unnamed 1963 stormJun 366 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1832 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 2
1955ConnieAug 1316 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1954HazelOct 1533 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
1952AbleSep 131 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2948 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1825 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 250 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 110 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1919 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1933Unnamed 1933 stormAug 2415 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 4
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 210 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 2048 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 5
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 415 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 118 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 237 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 1463 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2923 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1163 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1885Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1358 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2315 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 470 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 3
1876Unnamed 1876 stormSep 1835 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2968 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2664 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Greenbelt: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Greenbelt

By decade

  • 2020s13
  • 2010s27
  • 2000s16(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s31
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s11(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s6(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Greenbelt, Maryland
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 24, 2001F33 mi17.5 mi2 / 55
Sep 5, 1979F318 mi17.9 mi1 / 6
Apr 1, 1973F318 mi9.8 mi0 / 37
Jun 9, 1961F319 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF218 mi11.43 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 1996F222 mi20 mi0 / 1
Oct 5, 1995F213 mi2.5 mi0 / 3
Jul 27, 1994F220 mi7 mi0 / 0
Oct 13, 1983F219 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jul 31, 1978F223 mi0.8 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1978F224 mi6.9 mi0 / 0
Sep 12, 1971F28 mi3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Greenbelt while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Maryland