Historical record — not a forecast
Ocean City
Ocean City, MD has had 33 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Gloria (1985, Category 2 Hurricane).
Location 01
Ocean City
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The historical record
Storm history
33 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Ocean City since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 3
- Tropical Storm
- 26
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 3
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 2
- 1860s
- 3
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 1
- 1900s
- 3
- 1920s
- 2
- 1940s
- 1
- 1950s
- 1
- 1960s
- 2
- 1970s
- 1
- 1980s
- 1
- 1990s
- 2
- 2000s
- 4
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Gloria (1985, Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt) passed within 49.8 km in 1985
- Most recent
- Elsa (2021, Tropical Storm, 50 kt) passed within 37.4 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 38.39312, -75.07121
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Gloria (1985) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 49.8 km on 1985-09-27
- Unnamed storm (1903) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 60.1 km on 1903-09-16
- Irene (2011) — Category 1 Hurricane, 65 kt, passed within 33.2 km on 2011-08-28
- Unnamed storm (1924) — Category 1 Hurricane, 65 kt, passed within 57.6 km on 1924-09-30
- Floyd (1999) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 48.1 km on 1999-09-16
- Unnamed storm (1866) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 59.6 km on 1866-10-30
- Unnamed storm (1861) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 67.5 km on 1861-09-28
- Unnamed storm (1859) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 51.1 km on 1859-09-17
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 5.8 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 43.8 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Ocean City?
Since 1851, 33 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Ocean City, MD, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Ocean City?
Gloria (1985, Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt) passed within 49.8 km in 1985, reaching Category 2 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Ocean City?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.