The National Weather Service spotter reported a tornado touched down in Dover as a strong line of storms passed through the area Thursday Evening.
A car drove through the tornado zone in Dover, DE. Damian Blut, who sent the dashcam video, claims it shows the Superlodge coming apart.
(Video: Damian Bluto)
The National Weather Service issued a report of a potentially strong tornado over Dover’s downtown area around 6:12, after they had initially said they received a confirmation of one near Hartly around 5:55 p.m.
Damage to the roof of the Days Inn on Route 13 in Dover on August 20, 2026
Josh Miller/Submitted
The City of Dover is under a State of Emergency after multiple streets and buildings were struck throughout Delaware’s capital.
Two hotels along Route 13, the Superlodge and Days Inn, both received substantial damage.
There have not been any official reports on the extent of injuries.
There are also reports of downed wires on McKee Road in Dover and Parkers Chapel Road in Marydel, a downed tree on South Governor’s Avenue at Water Street, multiple downed trees and wires throughout Dover.
The City of Dover is reporting that all city phone lines are down, with two substations currently out, which has knocked out power to much of the city, which runs its own electric utility.
As of 8:31 p.m., they said that some power circuits were coming back online, but there are still significant power outages.
They are asking everyone in Dover to stay home due to the extent of the damage.
Dover Motor Speedway officials say the track’s property did not sustain any damage from the storm, they’re about 1 mile north of the Days Inn.
“We’re hopeful that everyone in our community is safe and that no one was injured. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and plan to conduct a more thorough survey of the facility in the coming days,” a track spokesman said.
In addition, there are reports of downed wires on Westville Road near Marydel, along with fire department activity on Firehouse Lane.
In addition to wind damage, the storm dumped 1-3″ of rain throughout Delaware, with the highest totals near Dover and Smyrna.
This is a breaking story, and will be updated when further information is available.
DelDOT Traffic Camera showing a storm that a trained spotter reported had a tornado west of Dover on August 20, 2026
DelDOT Camera