Massachusetts natural disasters

The state's storm and disaster record · population 7,021,936 · 14 counties and county equivalents

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 16,438 storm events in Massachusetts since 1950, 15,452 of them since 1996 when every event type began to be recorded, and the Storm Prediction Center counts 200 tornadoes in the state since 1950. The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events (4,575). In NOAA's storm record since 1950, the deadliest tornado day in Massachusetts was June 9, 1953: the Worcester tornado killed 94 people in the state by SPC's count (NOAA's storm record holds 90 deaths for the day; the two databases count differently). FEMA has made 59 declarations for Massachusetts since 1953, 52 for natural hazards; 36 were major disasters.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm events recorded in Massachusetts 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 $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 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 events recorded: 16,4381950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded: 1642,049 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $4.3Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes (SPC): 2001950 to 2025
FEMA declarations: 5936 major disasters

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); tornado count: NOAA Storm Prediction Center, 1950-2025; damage in 2025 dollars (BLS CPI-U). Search the record at NCEI.

What natural disasters happen in Massachusetts?

By NOAA's records, Massachusetts's most frequent hazards are severe thunderstorm wind events (4,575), high wind and dust records (3,726), winter storm records (3,028); the deadliest are tornadoes (105 deaths). Each hazard is counted over the years NOAA has recorded it everywhere: tornadoes since 1950, hail and thunderstorm wind since 1955, everything else since 1996. Open a hazard for its years, months, counties and worst events.

Massachusetts: records by hazard to June 30, 2026
Hazard	Records	Last 10 years	Killed	Injured	Damage	Counties
Severe thunderstorm wind	4,575	1,652	13	134	$81M	14 of 14
High wind and dust storms	3,726	1,487	15	57	$52M	14 of 14
Winter storms	3,028	760	12	93	$134M	14 of 14
Floods	1,890	881	3	21	$502M	14 of 14
Hail	1,547	244	0	2	$4.8M	14 of 14
Lightning	501	114	8	165	$37M	14 of 14
Heavy rain	273	6	0	0	$94K	14 of 14
Drought	208	53	0	0	–	14 of 14
Tornadoes	205	36	105	1,566	$3.4B	13 of 14
Extreme cold	173	68	1	0	–	12 of 14
Hurricanes and tropical storms	138	67	0	3	$46M	14 of 14
Heat	127	41	3	3	–	12 of 14
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds	29	5	0	0	–	10 of 14
Wildfires	10	4	0	1	$71K	5 of 14
Rip currents and high surf	5	2	4	4	–	5 of 14
Landslides and avalanches	3	1	0	0	$62K	2 of 14

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: every record counted once in the state; "last 10 years" is 2017-2026 (2026 to June 30, 2026).

What were the deadliest disasters in Massachusetts?

The storms with the most deaths since 1950, from the National Weather Service's own entries. NOAA files one storm as several records when it crosses forecast zones and counties or changes type, and groups them under one episode; each row here is an episode, with its totals and the narrative of its deadliest record. Before 1996 tornado records carry no episode and stand alone. The narrative says what happened: some deaths the National Weather Service files under a weather type had another cause beside the weather.

Massachusetts: the 10 storm episodes with the most deaths
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
1953-06-09	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Worcester, killed 94 by SPC's count (NOAA's record holds 90) · TornadoWorcester County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (4, in 3 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F4 34.9 mi x 900 yd	90	1,245	$250M step
1973-08-28	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Berkshire County, killed 4 (SPC) · TornadoBerkshire County	F4 6.4 mi x 313 yd	4	36	$25M step
2011-06-01	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Westfield to Southbridge, killed 3 (SPC) · TornadoWestfield, Hampden County One storm episode: 7 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An upper level closed low over southern Ontario tracked across Quebec while at the surface, a cold front over western New York crossed southern New England in the evening of June 1. An environment characterized by high CAPE (2000-3000 J/kg) and high shear (greater than 200 m2/s2) was in place across western ...	EF3 31.52 mi x 880 yd	3	200	$299M
1995-05-29	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Great Barrington, killed 3 (SPC) · TornadoN. Egremont, Berkshire County A tornado touched down near Prospect Lake in North Egremont at 1906 EST and moved in an easterly direction at about 40 mph, crossing into Great Barrington and then Monterey. The last damage occurred near Morley Hill in Sandisfield at 1924 EST. Officially, the track extended from one mile southeast of north Egremont to ...	F4 300 mi x 12 yd	3	24	$484
2013-02-08	Heavy SnowSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places, 2013-02-08 to 2013-02-09; the totals are the episode's. An historic winter storm deposited tremendous amounts of snow over all of southern New England, mainly from the mid-afternoon on Friday, February 8 and lasting into the daylight hours of Saturday, February 9. What made this an amazing storm was the widespread coverage of heavy snowfall. Most locations received 2 to ...		3	0	$27M
2014-03-26	Strong WindSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk The Automated Surface Observing System at Logan International Airport recorded sustained winds of 38 mph and wind gusts of 54 mph. These winds resulted in downed tree limbs and power lines on Allston and Rutherford Streets, as well as on Bronx Road. In addition, these winds greatly exacerbated a structure fire in the ...	47 kt wind	2	13	$6K
1979-08-10	Tornadoes of the day; the deadliest, Worcester County, killed 2 (SPC) · TornadoWorcester County Every tornado record filed in the state that day (2, in 2 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's.	F2 9.7 mi x 30 yd	2	3	$2.5M step
2014-09-06	LightningConomo Pt, Essex County One storm episode: 5 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. An approaching cold front provided enough lift in a rather unstable environment to produce showers and thunderstorms across southern New England. Many of these storms produced strong to damaging winds.		2	2	$199K
2015-01-26	BlizzardBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places, 2015-01-26 to 2015-01-27; the totals are the episode's. An historic winter storm brought heavy snow to southern New England with blizzard conditions to much of Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts, beginning during the day on Monday, January 26 and lasting into the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 27. The highest snowfall totals, averaging two to three feet, ...		2	1	$2.8M
1998-05-31	Thunderstorm WindWinchendon, Worcester County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A severe thunderstorm moving through northern Worcester County resulted in the deaths of two men in their twenties in Winchendon. They were killed when thunderstorm winds gusting to an estimated 60 to 70 mph blew a tree down on a car travelling on Route 202, as reported by local police. Large tree limbs were blown ...		2	1	$45K

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: deaths direct and indirect, as filed in this state, summed over the records of each episode (EPISODE_ID); a forecast-zone record counts the zone's deaths once. A tornado's whole-track deaths (SPC), on the state's tornado page, can be higher when the track crossed a state line. Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest records in Massachusetts

Massachusetts: the 8 records with the most damage since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2011-06-01	TornadoWestfield, Hampden County	EF3 31.52 mi x 880 yd	3	200	$299M
2010-03-14	FloodHolliston, Middlesex County		0	0	$36M
2020-06-28	Flash FloodNorwood, Norfolk County		0	0	$34M
2010-03-29	FloodNorth Attleboro, Bristol County		0	2	$32M
2011-08-28	FloodNorth Bernardston, Franklin County		0	0	$29M
2008-12-11	Ice StormWorcester County · forecast zone Northern Worcester		0	0	$27M
2001-03-05	FloodSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk		0	0	$25M
2010-03-14	FloodWellesley Fells, Norfolk County		0	0	$23M

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 $250M, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 9, 1953 (tornado, Worcester County, 90 killed).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. BLS consumer price index.

Which counties in Massachusetts have the most records?

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950 attributed to each county (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).

Every county in Massachusetts

Billion-dollar disasters in Massachusetts

NOAA counted 45 weather or climate disasters from 1980-2024 that cost at least $1 billion (adjusted for inflation) and affected Massachusetts, led by severe storm (15). The most recent: Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather (2024); Central and Eastern Severe Weather (2024); Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm (2024).

Massachusetts: billion-dollar disasters by type, 1980-2024
Type	Events	Total cost (NOAA's range)
Severe Storm	15	$500M-$1.0B
Winter Storm	15	$5.0B-$10.0B
Tropical Cyclone	9	$2.0B-$5.0B
Flooding	4	$1.0B-$2.0B
Drought	1	$5M-$100M
Freeze	1	$5M-$100M

Every one of the 45, newest first

Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2024
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm2024
East Coast Storm and Flooding2023
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather2023
Northeastern Winter Storm/Cold Wave2023
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave2022
Hurricane Ida2021
Tropical Storm Fred2021
Tropical Storm Elsa2021
Hurricane Isaias2020
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak2020
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather2020
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather2019
Central and Eastern Severe Weather2018
Northeast Winter Storm2018
Central and Eastern Winter Storm2018
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes2016
West/Northeast/Southeast Drought2016
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave2015
Hurricane Sandy2012
Northeastern Winter Storm2011
Hurricane Irene2011
Groundhog Day Blizzard2011
Northeast Flooding2010
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding2007
Hurricane Floyd1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Winter Storm1999
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding1998
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes1998
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding1997
New England Flooding1996
Blizzard/Floods1996
Southeast Ice Storm1994
Winter Storm, Cold Wave1994
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather1993
Northeast Winter Storm1992
Hurricane Bob1991
Hurricane Gloria1985
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods1984
Freeze/Cold Wave1983
Severe Storms1982
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave1982

Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, state summary for Massachusetts, 1980-2024 (NCEI's last update; the product is archived). A disaster that affected several states counts in each. NCEI billion-dollar disasters.

Federal disaster declarations in Massachusetts

FEMA has made 59 declarations for Massachusetts since 1953: 36 major disasters, 22 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. The most common incident types are hurricane (12), severe storm (12), snowstorm (10).

1950s 3
1970s 5
1980s 3
1990s 10
2000s 13
2010s 16
2020s 9

The 15 most recent declarations in Massachusetts
Declared	Number	Type	Title	Areas named
2026-06-30	DR-4919	Winter Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	1
2024-05-15	DR-4780	Flood	Severe Storms and Flooding	2
2023-09-15	EM-3599	Hurricane	Hurricane Lee	14
2022-04-18	DR-4651	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2021-08-22	EM-3566	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Henri	1
2020-03-27	DR-4496	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	17
2020-03-13	EM-3497	Biological	Covid-19	1
2020-03-13	EM-3484	Biological	Covid-19	1
2020-03-13	EM-3438	Biological	Covid-19	14
2018-07-19	DR-4379	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm	5
2018-06-25	DR-4372	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm and Flooding	6
2015-04-13	DR-4214	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding	10
2013-04-19	DR-4110	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding	14
2013-04-17	EM-3362	Terrorist	Explosions	4
2012-12-19	DR-4097	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	6

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

Flood insurance claims in Massachusetts

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $439 million on 35,063 claims in 14 Massachusetts counties. Claims count insured losses only.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk across Massachusetts's counties

How FEMA's National Risk Index rates Massachusetts's counties overall: a model of expected future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of events.

Relatively High 2
Relatively Moderate 8
Relatively Low 2
Very Low 2

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