Barnstable County, Massachusetts
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 25001 · population 228,870 · 394 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 755 records for Barnstable County, Massachusetts from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 451 days; the most frequent are high wind and dust records (339 records). 486 of them are forecast-zone records, which the National Weather Service files once per zone: a county covered by several zones receives each one, so a single storm can add several records on the same day. The deadliest single record is the September 29, 2018 high surf, filed for the forecast zone Barnstable, which covers the county: 1 death and 1 injury. FEMA has issued 24 declarations naming the county since 1972, 21 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Lee” on September 15, 2023.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 755on 451 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 412 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $38Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 8strongest EF1
- FEMA declarations
- 24latest 2023
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Barnstable County most?
The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 339 since 1996. The rank column places the county among Massachusetts's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High wind and dust storms | 339 | 239 | 1996-2025 | 1 | 0 | $6.6M | 2 of 12 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 106 | 54 | 1957-2025 | 0 | 1 | $4.7M | 12 of 12 |
| Floods | 87 | 61 | 1998-2024 | 0 | 0 | $9.3M | 6 of 12 |
| Winter storms | 70 | 69 | 1996-2026 | 1 | 0 | $2.1M | 11 of 12 |
| Hail | 49 | 30 | 1962-2024 | 0 | 0 | $18K | 10 of 12 |
| Lightning | 32 | 26 | 1999-2024 | 1 | 8 | $4.5M | 5 of 12 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 26 | 12 | 2002-2023 | 0 | 0 | $5.2M | 2 of 12 |
| Heavy rain | 22 | 22 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $69K | 3 of 12 |
| Tornadoes | 8 | 6 | 1968-2023 | 0 | 2 | $5.8M | 10 of 12 |
| Drought | 6 | 6 | 2012-2016 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 12 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 5 | 3 | 1997-2017 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 of 12 |
| Heat | 2 | 2 | 2010-2011 | 0 | 0 | – | 7 of 12 |
| Rip currents and high surf | 1 | 1 | 2018-2018 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 of 12 |
| Extreme cold | 1 | 1 | 2016-2016 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 of 12 |
| Wildfires | 1 | 1 | 2016-2016 | 0 | 0 | – | 3 of 12 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Barnstable County had?
NOAA records 8 tornadoes in Barnstable County from 1968 to 2023, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 8 tornadoes whose track touched Barnstable County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 8, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Massachusetts.
Every tornado record filed for Barnstable County (8)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-08 | Marstons Mills Airport, Barnstable County | EF0 1.2 mi x 650 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2021-09-02 | Dennis, Barnstable County | EF0 0.1 mi x 15 yd | 0 | 0 | $16K |
| 2019-07-23 | Harwich, Barnstable County | EF1 2.77 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $4.2M |
| 2019-07-23 | West Yarmouth, Barnstable County | EF1 0.25 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $115K |
| 2019-07-23 | Hyannis Port, Barnstable County | EF1 5.52 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.4M |
| 2018-10-29 | Woods Hole, Barnstable County | EF0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $353 |
| 1977-08-22 | Barnstable County | F1 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 1968-08-09 | Barnstable County | F1 0.1 mi x 33 yd | 0 | 0 | $3K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Barnstable County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 3, 2025 thunderstorm wind.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-22 | BlizzardBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-25 | Heavy SnowBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 59 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-07-03 | Thunderstorm WindCataumet, Barnstable County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $300 |
| 2025-05-31 | Strong WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 49 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2025-05-22 | Heavy RainWaquoit, Barnstable County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-05-22 | Strong WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 49 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2025-03-07 | Strong WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 43 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2023-08-08 | TornadoMarstons Mills Airport, Barnstable County | EF0 1.2 mi x 650 yd | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2021-11-13 | Thunderstorm WindWest Dennis, Barnstable County | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $11K |
| 2021-10-26 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 73 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1.4M |
| 2021-09-02 | Thunderstorm WindYarmouth, Barnstable County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $44K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-09-29 | High SurfBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable A 27-year-old man walking along the shore at Ballston Beach in Truro Massachusetts was swept into the surf around 12:30 PM EST. He was fully clothed and walking on a narrow stretch of beach that only had 4 or 5 feet of sand next to the water. The surf/waves, which were pounding the shore that day, came by and ... | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2015-01-26 | BlizzardBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable Blizzard conditions occurred at several locations on Cape Cod, including Chatham Municipal Airport and Barnstable Municipal-Boardman Aiport. These occurred at one location or the other from approximately 5:30 am to 8 pm. Even outside this time frame, near blizzard conditions occurred with strong gusty winds and ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-07-01 | LightningOrleans, Barnstable County A 41 year old man was out digging for quahogs (clams) on the tidal flats of Little Pleasant Bay, a quarter mile east of Sipsons Island when he was struck by lightning and killed. | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2006-01-18 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable An intensifying low pressure system moved across the Great Lakes and into Quebec, producing strong damaging winds across Massachusetts on 18 January 2006. These strong winds were accompanied with heavy rain showers. The most widespread wind damage occurred across eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, where numerous ... | 61 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $146K |
| 2012-08-28 | LightningEastham, Barnstable County A 62 year old woman and a 4 year old girl were struck by lightning while getting out of a car. The woman was holding an umbrella for the girl when lightning struck. Both were transported to Cape Cod Hospital for evaluation but were released with no injuries. | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 2001-05-27 | LightningEastham, Barnstable County Lightning struck several homes, trees, and radio towers across Cape Cod during the early morning. Two people in Eastham were injured when lightning struck their house as they slept, and passed through their bed. | 0 | 2 | – | |
| 1977-08-22 | TornadoBarnstable County | F1 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 2 | $25K step |
| 2016-07-01 | LightningForestdale, Barnstable County Two houses on Greenville Drive were struck by lightning, within minutes of each other. One resulted in a fire in a bedroom and attic over the garage. The other had electrical issues but no fire, and the owner's son felt unwell after the strike and was transported to the hospital as a precaution. | 0 | 1 | – |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-02-09 | Coastal FloodBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 0 | 0 | $6.7M | |
| 2011-08-28 | Tropical StormBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 0 | 0 | $4.9M | |
| 2019-07-23 | TornadoHarwich, Barnstable County | EF1 2.77 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $4.2M |
| 2003-08-16 | LightningMashpee, Barnstable County | 0 | 0 | $4.0M | |
| 2019-07-23 | Thunderstorm WindWest Dennis, Barnstable County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $3.0M |
| 2005-12-09 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 64 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2.3M |
| 1996-01-07 | Heavy SnowBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2019-07-23 | TornadoHyannis Port, Barnstable County | EF1 5.52 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | $1.4M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: August 22, 1977 (tornado, Barnstable County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Barnstable County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 70 | 60 | 157 | 52 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 52 | 23 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 1 | 12 | 60 | 14 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 14 | 21 | 29 | 6 |
| Hail | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 13 | 3 |
| Lightning | – | – | – | – | 1 | 15 | 14 | 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
Records by month in Barnstable County. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 91 · Feb 59 · Mar 57 · Apr 39 · May 21 · Jun 36 · Jul 85 · Aug 83 · Sep 55 · Oct 128 · Nov 45 · Dec 56 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Barnstable County
FEMA's register lists 24 declarations that include Barnstable County: 14 major disasters, 10 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (9) and snowstorm (5).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-09-15 | EM-3599 | Hurricane | Hurricane Lee |
| 2020-03-27 | DR-4496 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3438 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2018-06-25 | DR-4372 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding |
| 2015-04-13 | DR-4214 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding |
| 2013-04-19 | DR-4110 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding |
| 2012-12-19 | DR-4097 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2012-10-28 | EM-3350 | Hurricane | Hurricane Sandy |
| 2011-09-03 | DR-4028 | Hurricane | Tropical Storm Irene |
| 2011-08-26 | EM-3330 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irene |
| 2010-09-02 | EM-3315 | Hurricane | Hurricane Earl |
| 2007-05-16 | DR-1701 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding |
| 2005-09-13 | EM-3252 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 2005-02-17 | EM-3201 | Snowstorm | Record and/Or Near Record Snow |
| 2004-01-15 | EM-3191 | Snowstorm | Snow |
| 2003-03-11 | EM-3175 | Snowstorm | Snow |
| 1996-01-24 | DR-1090 | Snowstorm | Blizzard of 96 |
| 1993-03-16 | EM-3103 | Snowstorm | Blizzards, High Winds & Record Snowfall |
| 1992-12-21 | DR-975 | Coastal Storm | Winter Coastal Storm |
| 1991-11-04 | DR-920 | Coastal Storm | Coastal Storm |
| 1991-08-26 | DR-914 | Hurricane | Hurricane Bob |
| 1985-10-28 | DR-751 | Hurricane | Hurricane Gloria |
| 1978-02-10 | DR-546 | Flood | Coastal Storms, Flood, Ice & Snow |
| 1972-09-28 | DR-357 | Fishing Losses | Toxic Algae in Coastal Waters |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Barnstable County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 87 flood or flash flood records for Barnstable County from 1998 to 2024, on 61 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Barnstable County ranks 132nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy | 2012-10-29 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane Irene | 2011-08-28 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $43.0 million on 3,184 claims filed in Barnstable County; the most in one year was 1,362 in 1991. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1978: 96 · 1979: 30 · 1980: 7 · 1981: 9 · 1982: 15 · 1983: 33 · 1984: 16 · 1985: 29 · 1986: 3 · 1987: 135 · 1988: 18 · 1989: 7 · 1990: 100 · 1991: 1,362 · 1992: 131 · 1993: 70 · 1994: 5 · 1995: 7 · 1996: 88 · 1997: 26 · 1998: 20 · 1999: 3 · 2000: 6 · 2001: 10 · 2002: 15 · 2003: 16 · 2004: 4 · 2005: 77 · 2006: 37 · 2007: 22 · 2008: 6 · 2009: 18 · 2010: 55 · 2011: 19 · 2012: 34 · 2013: 52 · 2014: 7 · 2015: 59 · 2016: 2 · 2017: 53 · 2018: 294 · 2019: 16 · 2020: 8 · 2021: 24 · 2022: 60 · 2023: 57 · 2024: 12 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 9.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Barnstable County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Barnstable County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $82.3 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Flooding | Very High | $12M | 4.8 a year (modeled) |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | $20M | once in about 7 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively High | $1.1M | 15 a year (modeled) |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively Moderate | $44M | 1.1 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Relatively Moderate | $789K | once in about 3 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | $1.5M | once in about 849 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Relatively Low | $561K | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Landslide | Relatively Low | $5K | once in about 12 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Barnstable County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in MassachusettsEvery Massachusetts tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- High wind and dust storms in MassachusettsThe state's high wind and dust records, by county, year and month
- The Massachusetts recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Barnstable CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Barnstable County's FEMA declarations (CSV)24 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis