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Delaware Tornado History — 74 Tornadoes Since 1950

5 cities covered · 1950–present · NOAA Storm Prediction Center
Confirmed records complete through December 29, 2025

How many tornadoes does Delaware get per year?

Delaware has had 74 tornadoes on record since 1950, including 2 strong to violent (EF3+) tornadoes — averaging about 1.0 per year since 1950 (about 1.4 per year over the last decade). Counts come from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center archive for Delaware. The 5 cities below report tornadoes within their own search radius, so those figures overlap each other and do not sum to the state total.

When was the most recent tornado in Delaware?

The most recent confirmed tornado in our Delaware dataset was an EF0 tornado on June 30, 2025. Confirmed records are complete through December 29, 2025; more recent preliminary reports are listed below.

When is tornado season in Delaware?

July is historically the peak month for tornadoes in Delaware, with 22 on record since 1950. Tornadoes can occur any time of year, but spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most US states.

Delaware at a Glance

Cities Covered
5
Tornado-prone metros
Tornadoes on Record
74
Sum across city radii
EF3+ Tornadoes
2
2.7% of all tornadoes
Peak Month
July
22 aggregate

Notable Tornadoes in Delaware

Deadliest Tornado in Delaware
F2 on July 22, 1983 — 2 fatalities.
Most Recent Tornado
EF0 on June 30, 2025.

1 preliminary tornado report in Delaware since December 29, 2025

This is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is not counted in the confirmed totals above.

Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.

Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.

Preliminary EF1° March 17, 2026
2 SW Frederica, Kent County

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.

Recent tornado warnings in Delaware

County-by-county tornado warning pages for Delaware →

Cities

Bear, DE
81 tornadoes since 1950
Dover, DE
41 tornadoes since 1950
Middletown, DE
73 tornadoes since 1950
Newark, DE
82 tornadoes since 1950
Wilmington, DE
90 tornadoes since 1950
Aggregate totals sum each city's 25-mile search radius; tornadoes within overlapping radii are counted multiple times in the aggregate figures but appear only once on each individual city page. Data source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center.