Baltimore County, Maryland: hazard history
What federal records show has already happened here: disaster declarations, storms, and flood insurance claims. This is a record of the past. It is not a forecast and not a hazard score.
At a glance
What this means
- The event NOAA recorded most often here is Thunderstorm Wind, with 571 records.
- The costliest single record is Tropical Storm in 2003: $252.0M in property damage, in the dollars of that year.
- The deadliest record is Heat in 2002, with 17 deaths.
- FEMA has declared 24 disasters that named this county, most often for hurricane.
- The worst year for flood insurance claims was 2003, with 1,535 claims.
What this can't tell you
- What happens next. Past events do not set the odds of the next one.
- Anything before 1996 from NOAA. That is when NOAA began recording every event type; earlier files hold only tornado, hail and wind, so they are left out on purpose.
- Today's cost. Damage and payments are in the dollars of the year they happened.
- A flood rate. NFIP counts claims but not how many homes were insured, and many flooded homes carry no flood insurance.
- Earthquakes, wildfire perimeters or radar-detected hail. Those records are not tied to counties.
Federal disaster declarations (FEMA)
FEMA declared 24 disasters that named Baltimore County between 1971 and 2026.
| Incident type | Disasters | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | 6 | 2012 |
| Snowstorm | 6 | 2016 |
| Flood | 5 | 2018 |
| Severe Storm | 4 | 2014 |
| Biological | 2 | 2020 |
| Winter Storm | 1 | 2026 |
Most recent declarations
- EM-3634 2026 · Winter Storm · Severe Winter Storm
- EM-3430 2020 · Biological · Covid-19
- DR-4491 2020 · Biological · Covid-19 Pandemic
- DR-4376 2018 · Flood · Severe Storm And Flooding
- DR-4261 2016 · Snowstorm · Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm
- DR-4170 2014 · Severe Storm · Snowstorm
- DR-4091 2012 · Hurricane · Hurricane Sandy
- EM-3349 2012 · Hurricane · Hurricane Sandy
- DR-4038 2011 · Flood · Remnants Of Tropical Storm Lee
- EM-3335 2011 · Hurricane · Hurricane Irene
Not counted above: 1 statewide declarations, which covered every county in Maryland. A declaration is a decision to send federal help, not a measure of how bad an event was. Records run from 1953. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
Storms recorded by NOAA, by type
| Event type | Records | Deaths | Injuries | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 571 | 1 | 6 | $9.3M |
| Flash Flood | 314 | 2 | 0 | $12.7M |
| Winter Weather | 283 | 3 | 18 | $0 |
| Flood | 174 | 0 | 0 | $35K |
| Hail | 136 | 0 | 1 | $35K |
| Dense Fog | 112 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Winter Storm | 108 | 0 | 1 | $1.5M |
| Heat | 103 | 73 | 280 | $0 |
| Frost/Freeze | 50 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Strong Wind | 46 | 0 | 1 | $923K |
| High Wind | 41 | 1 | 8 | $9.6M |
| Excessive Heat | 30 | 12 | 0 | $0 |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 21 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | 2 | $17.5M |
| Drought | 19 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Coastal Flood | 18 | 0 | 0 | $45K |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 15 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | 32 | $0 |
| Heavy Snow | 14 | 0 | 0 | $10K |
| Lightning | 14 | 1 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Ice Storm | 9 | 0 | 0 | $140K |
| Blizzard | 5 | 1 | 0 | $8K |
| Tropical Storm | 5 | 1 | 0 | $407.8M |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | 0 | $250K |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Records start in 1996. Damage is NOAA's estimate at the time, in nominal dollars, and is often rounded; it is not insurance claims data. A storm that crossed two NOAA zones in this county is recorded, and counted, once per zone. A storm filed against a forecast zone is counted in every county that zone covers, with the whole storm's damage; do not add these figures across counties.
Year by year
NOAA storm event records in Baltimore County each year. The busiest year was 2018, with 145 records.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Records | Deaths | Property damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 39 | 3 | $1.4M |
| 1997 | 26 | 1 | $138K |
| 1998 | 36 | 0 | $154K |
| 1999 | 38 | 15 | $3.5M |
| 2000 | 46 | 0 | $267K |
| 2001 | 36 | 4 | $1.0M |
| 2002 | 44 | 35 | $243K |
| 2003 | 47 | 1 | $408.6M |
| 2004 | 45 | 1 | $91K |
| 2005 | 40 | 0 | $614K |
| 2006 | 52 | 4 | $807K |
| 2007 | 41 | 0 | $47K |
| 2008 | 74 | 0 | $348K |
| 2009 | 50 | 0 | $0 |
| 2010 | 58 | 3 | $117K |
| 2011 | 144 | 1 | $627K |
| 2012 | 129 | 4 | $8.7M |
| 2013 | 48 | 2 | $11K |
| 2014 | 89 | 0 | $22K |
| 2015 | 94 | 1 | $59K |
| 2016 | 76 | 2 | $10K |
| 2017 | 81 | 1 | $10K |
| 2018 | 145 | 16 | $8.6M |
| 2019 | 116 | 0 | $500K |
| 2020 | 111 | 0 | $334K |
| 2021 | 119 | 0 | $1.2M |
| 2022 | 67 | 1 | $326K |
| 2023 | 65 | 0 | $6.4M |
| 2024 | 52 | 0 | $15.1M |
| 2025 | 91 | 0 | $1.5M |
| 2026 | 27 | 0 | $95K |
Years with no record are left out of the table, not shown as zero.
Notable events
Costliest records
- Tropical Storm · Sep 18, 2003$252.0MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 5335405
- Tropical Storm · Sep 18, 2003$155.0MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · 1 death · NOAA record 5335404
- Tornado · Jun 5, 2024$10.0MNOAA name: Baltimore County · NOAA record 1174101
- Flash Flood · May 27, 2018$8.6MNOAA name: Baltimore County · NOAA record 760892
- High Wind · Oct 29, 2012$7.1MNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · 2 injuries · NOAA record 417691
Deadliest records
- Heat · Jul 2, 200217 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 5308354
- Heat · Jul 4, 199915 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · 200 injuries · NOAA record 5710710
- Excessive Heat · Jul 3, 20188 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 772286
- Heat · Aug 1, 20025 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 5313966
- Heat · Aug 1, 20064 deathsNOAA name: NWS forecast zone · NOAA record 5525711
Each line is one NOAA record, linked to its page at NOAA. One large storm can appear more than once if NOAA recorded it in several zones of this county. Dollars are nominal.
Flood insurance claims (NFIP)
The National Flood Insurance Program paid $64.5M on 3,381 claims in Baltimore County from 1978 to 2024.
| Year | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 1,535 | $44.4M |
| 1979 | 406 | $4.2M |
| 1996 | 194 | $1.3M |
| 2011 | 147 | $3.1M |
| 1985 | 126 | $332K |
A count of claims, not a rate: NFIP publishes no count of insured homes beside it, and most flood damage is uninsured. Nominal dollars. Records run from 1978 to 2024; claims filed without a county code are not on any county page. Source: FEMA OpenFEMA FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims.
Hazard vulnerability analysis: the probability column for a facility in Baltimore County
A hazard vulnerability analysis rates each hazard for probability, impact, preparedness and response. Probability is the one column the county’s federal record can fill — NCEI storm events from 1996 to 2026 and FEMA declarations naming the county — and this is what it says for a facility here, on the 0–3 scale of the all-hazards structure surveyors expect. The other six columns are the facility’s own judgment about its building, and Calchis leaves them blank.
| Hazard | Prob. | Basis, from the county record |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane / Tropical Storm | 3 | 7 NCEI events over 31 years (0.23/yr). 6 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Severe Thunderstorm | 3 | 721 NCEI events over 31 years (23.26/yr). 4 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Flood, External | 3 | 520 NCEI events over 31 years (16.77/yr). 5 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Snow Fall / Blizzard / Ice Storm | 3 | 419 NCEI events over 31 years (13.52/yr). 6 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Temperature Extremes | 3 | 219 NCEI events over 31 years (7.06/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| High Wind (non-convective) | 3 | 87 NCEI events over 31 years (2.81/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tornado | 2 | 21 NCEI events over 31 years (0.68/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Drought | 2 | 19 NCEI events over 31 years (0.61/yr). No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Epidemic | 2 | 2 federal disaster declarations naming the county. |
| Wild Fire | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Earthquake | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Landslide | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Tidal Wave / Tsunami | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Volcano | 1 | No events of this kind on the county's NCEI record over 31 years. No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
| Dam Inundation | 1 | No federal disaster declaration of this kind has named the county. |
A dash means the record does not speak to that hazard; it is not a zero. Whether a finished document satisfies the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule is the facility’s finding and its surveyor’s. Complete the HVA for a facility in Baltimore County — the technological, human and hazardous-materials rows, the six facility columns, the approval and the printed document — or read the sample analysis on that page first.
How this page was made
- Every figure is counted from public federal records held by Calchis: NOAA NCEI Storm Events, FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations, and FEMA NFIP claims. Nothing is modeled or estimated.
- NOAA files some events against a county and others against an NWS forecast zone, and publishes a code for both. Records are counted as Baltimore County by that code — county records by the county's own FIPS code, zone records through the National Weather Service's published list of which counties each zone covers. No name matching is involved. Of 2,126 records, 1,232 were filed against this county and 894 against a forecast zone covering it. A zone storm is counted in every county its zone covers, and its damage figure is the whole storm's, not this county's share — NOAA does not publish that split. So these figures describe this county; they must not be added up across counties. Left out: 6% of Maryland's NOAA records, which are marine zones or zones NWS does not map to a county.
- Counts last rebuilt from the source records on Sep 15, 2026.
- This county's NOAA record is short (under 100 records, under 10 with damage, or under 10 years), so this page is not offered to search engines. It is still accurate.
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Recorded history from federal public records. Not a hazard score, a risk score, or a forecast, and not a substitute for professional actuarial or emergency-management assessment. Decision-support intelligence — not a primary alerting or dispatch system. Verify against official sources.