Bear, DE Tornado History — 81 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Bear, DE had?
Bear has had 81 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 4 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Bear?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Bear was an EF1 on August 8, 2024.
When is tornado season in Bear?
July is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Bear, with 20 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Bear
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 17 total, averaging 0.8 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Bear
2 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Bear since 1950, across 2 events. 66 injuries have been reported across all events. 1979 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on March 22, 1955, which caused 1 fatality along a 9.6-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Bear
About Tornadoes in Bear
This overview was written July 29, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Bear sits in northern New Castle County, Delaware, on the low coastal plain between the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and Wilmington's southern suburbs. Its tornadoes arrive most often with the humid thunderstorms of July through September, but spring and late autumn have produced them too.
Spring turned violent on March 22, 1955, when an F3 tornado plowed a 9.6-mile path as wide as 600 yards, killing one person and causing $275,000 in damage. Summer has hit hard as well: an F2 on July 13, 1975 stayed on the ground only about 1.5 miles yet inflicted $27,500,000 in property damage, an F1 on June 7, 1988 tracked some 23 miles and injured 30 people, and an F3 on July 28, 1994 injured 11 along a 4-mile path. On September 6, 1979, an F2 killed one person and injured 4 along a 4.1-mile track, while another F2 that same day injured 5.
Recent years echo that pattern. An EF2 on November 1, 2019 injured two people over a short but intense 0.47-mile track, and another EF2 on August 4, 2020 carved a 35.78-mile path through the region. On September 1, 2021, an EF2 and an EF3 struck on the same day, the EF3 injuring two along a 12.37-mile track and doing $5,000,000 in damage. EF1 tornadoes followed on July 9, 2023, August 10, 2023, and August 8, 2024.