Massachusetts floods
Every recorded flood since 1996 · 14 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,890 floods and flash floods in Massachusetts from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 67 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the May 13, 2006 flood in Essex County: 2 deaths and $18.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 3 records. Massachusetts ranks 33rd of 52 states and territories by count and 6th of 51 per square mile.
Floods in Massachusetts, 1996 to 2026
Flood records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- 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
- Records
- 1,8901996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 67average
- Deaths
- 321 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $502Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2018198 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are floods and flash floods common in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts averages about 67 floods and flash floods a year since 2000, 33rd of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2018 (198). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Massachusetts records 2423 floods and flash floods since 1996, 6th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Massachusetts have the most floods and flash floods?
Per square mile, Norfolk County leads Massachusetts: 106 days with a flood since 1996, 267.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Middlesex County has the most flood records (258 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is flood season in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts's floods and flash floods by month. The busiest month is July (389 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 121 · Feb 41 · Mar 115 · Apr 112 · May 63 · Jun 236 · Jul 389 · Aug 282 · Sep 228 · Oct 195 · Nov 44 · Dec 64 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest floods and flash floods in Massachusetts?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-05-13 | FloodCountywide, Essex County One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Heavy rainfall, most of it falling over a 100 hour period, caused widespread flooding across much of eastern Massachusetts of small streams and main stem rivers. Major flooding of a number of small streams and main stem rivers occurred in Essex County of Massachusetts. The Governor of Massachusetts declared a State of ... | 2 | 0 | $18M | |
| 2010-03-14 | FloodSouth Essex, Essex County One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places, 2010-03-14 to 2010-03-15; the totals are the episode's. A stacked low pressure system (surface low and upper level low on top of each other) moved southeast of Nantucket, spreading rain across Southern New England. This resulted in widespread rainfall totals of three to six inches. In eastern Massachusetts, a strong southeasterly low level jet pumped ample moisture into ... | 1 | 1 | $129M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest floods and flash floods in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-03-14 | FloodSouth Essex, Essex County One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places, 2010-03-14 to 2010-03-15; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 1 | $129M | |
| 2010-03-29 | FloodNorth Attleboro, Bristol County One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places, 2010-03-29 to 2010-03-30; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 17 | $76M | |
| 2020-06-28 | Flash FloodNorwood, Norfolk County | 0 | 0 | $34M | |
| 2011-08-28 | Hurricane Irene · FloodNorth Bernardston, Franklin County One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $31M | |
| 2013-02-09 | Coastal FloodPlymouth County · forecast zone Eastern Plymouth One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $26M | |
| 2001-03-05 | FloodSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk | 0 | 0 | $25M | |
| 1998-06-13 | Flash FloodArlington, Middlesex County One storm episode: 23 records in 6 places, 1998-06-13 to 1998-06-14; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $24M | |
| 2012-10-29 | Hurricane Sandy · Coastal FloodDukes County · forecast zone Dukes One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $19M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are floods and flash floods becoming more frequent in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Massachusetts | United States | Massachusetts's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 153 | 20,986 | 0.7% |
| 2000s | 362 | 54,913 | 0.7% |
| 2010s | 892 | 68,322 | 1.3% |
| 2020-26 | 483 | 43,563 | 1.1% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent floods and flash floods in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-23 | Flash FloodFairhaven, Bristol County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-23 | Flash FloodNorth Bristol, Bristol County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-23 | Flash FloodFall River, Bristol County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-06-23 | Flash FloodNorth Westport, Bristol County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-09-25 | Flash FloodNorth Westport, Bristol County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-13 | Flash FloodSouth Lawrence, Essex County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-08-13 | Flash FloodTopsfield, Essex County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-14 | Flash FloodChester, Hampden County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-14 | Flash FloodFlorence, Hampshire County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-14 | Flash FloodFlorence, Hampshire County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-14 | Flash FloodNorthmptn Lafleur Ar, Hampshire County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-07-11 | Flash FloodNorthampton, Hampshire County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for floods and flash floods in Massachusetts
FEMA has declared 19 disasters in Massachusetts for floods and flash floods, counting its incident type and declarations that name flood in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 17 were major disasters, the latest on May 15, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05-15 | DR-4780 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2018-06-25 | DR-4372 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 6 |
| 2015-04-13 | DR-4214 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | 10 |
| 2013-04-19 | DR-4110 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | 14 |
| 2010-03-29 | DR-1895 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 7 |
| 2009-01-05 | DR-1813 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 7 |
| 2007-05-16 | DR-1701 | Severe Storms and Inland and Coastal Flooding | 8 |
| 2006-05-25 | DR-1642 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 3 |
| 2005-11-10 | DR-1614 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 11 |
| 2005-10-19 | EM-3264 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 1 |
| 2004-04-21 | DR-1512 | Flooding | 5 |
| 2001-04-10 | DR-1364 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 7 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Norfolk County: the county's whole recordThe Massachusetts county with the most floods and flash floods per square mile
- Floods across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MassachusettsTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Massachusetts4,575 records
- High wind and dust storms in Massachusetts3,726 records
- Winter storms in Massachusetts3,028 records