Bristol County, Rhode Island

What hazards hit Bristol County most?

The most frequent records are high wind and dust records: 81 since 1996. Census land area gives no figure for Bristol County under this code, so it carries no per-area rank.

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 Bristol County had?

NOAA records 2 tornadoes in Bristol County from 1972 to 2008, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 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 2 tornadoes whose track touched Bristol County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 2, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 Bristol County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the July 8, 2025 lightning ($15,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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

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 Bristol 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).

High wind and dust storms in the 2010s: 27 records against 9 in the decade before, 27 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Bristol County days with a record above.

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 Bristol County. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Bristol County

FEMA's register lists 20 declarations that include Bristol County: 11 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (8) and snowstorm (6).

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 Bristol County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 29 flood or flash flood records for Bristol County from 1996 to 2025, on 29 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Bristol County ranks 369th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.9 million on 830 claims filed in Bristol County; the most in one year was 308 in 2010. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Bristol County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bristol County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.4 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Bristol County

1. Bristol County, MA 1,151
2. Providence County 923
3. Kent County 602
4. Newport County 286
5. Bristol County 241

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• High wind and dust storms in Rhode IslandThe state's high wind and dust records, by county, year and month
• The Rhode Island recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Bristol CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Bristol County's FEMA declarations (CSV)20 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis