Massachusetts high wind and dust storms
Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 14 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,726 high wind and dust records in Massachusetts from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 108 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the March 26, 2014 strong wind in Suffolk County: 2 deaths, 13 injuries and $6,233 in damage in 2025 dollars. Massachusetts ranks 11th of 52 states and territories by count and 3rd of 51 per square mile.
High wind and dust storms in Massachusetts, 1996 to 2026
Wind 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
- 3,7261996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 108average
- Deaths
- 1557 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $52Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2019452 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 high wind and dust records common in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts averages about 108 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 11th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (452). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Massachusetts records 4776 high wind and dust records since 1996, 3rd 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 high wind and dust records?
Per square mile, Dukes County leads Massachusetts: 116 days with a high wind record since 1996, 1124.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Plymouth County has the most wind records (702 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 the windy season in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is October (738 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 473 · Feb 374 · Mar 482 · Apr 304 · May 121 · Jun 43 · Jul 22 · Aug 27 · Sep 127 · Oct 738 · Nov 443 · Dec 572 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Massachusetts?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2016-04-03 | Strong WindPlymouth County · forecast zone Western Plymouth A 49 year old man and a 51 year old woman were killed when strong winds combined with snow resulted in a severely rotted tree being blown over onto their car. Winds from stations in the area were generally gusting up to about 50 mph, with sustained winds speeds in the 30 to 40 mph range. This occurred on Rockland ... | 43 kt wind | 2 | 0 | $18K |
| 2006-02-17 | High WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Western Middlesex One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong cold front swept across southern New England from late Friday morning through the afternoon hours of 17 February 2006, producing high winds across most of Massachusetts. Southwest winds sustained between 20 and 30 MPH with gusts to around 60 MPH were common during this event. These winds brought down numerous ... | 58 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $1.8M |
| 2021-03-26 | Strong WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Northwest Middlesex County Sadly, winds gusting to around 50 mph, knocked down a rotted tree, which directly hit a 1-year-old baby, who his father was holding in the front yard of his house. The father only had scratches, but the baby was taken to a hospital and he died the next day. | 43 kt wind | 1 | 2 | $545 |
| 2018-03-02 | High WindPlymouth County · forecast zone Western Plymouth One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Low pressure moving out of the Ohio Valley passed south of Southern New England on the 2nd and moved out to sea on the 3rd. This storm brought heavy snow to northwest Massachusetts, heavy rain and strong winds to central and eastern Massachusetts, and coastal flooding to the coastline. Moderate to major coastal ... | 54 kt wind | 1 | 2 | $100K |
| 2006-10-20 | High WindHampden County · forecast zone Eastern Hampden One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Damaging winds affected portions of western and central Massachusetts behind a strong cold front, as colder air surged into southern New England. Although wind gusts were only estimated as high as 50 mph, considerable damage was reported from the east slopes of the Berkshires into the hills of northern Worcester ... | 50 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $110K |
| 2023-02-03 | High WindHampden County · forecast zone Eastern Hampden Winds were generally gusting to 50 to 60 mph, but at the highest elevations, a mesonet site atop Mt. Tom recorded a gust to 78 mph at 617 PM EST. In Southwick at 1230 PM EST, a tree fell onto a SUV on Feeding Hills Road (Route 57), which sadly killed a 6-month old passenger. | 52 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $8K |
| 2017-03-02 | High WindWorcester County · forecast zone Southern Worcester At 210 PM EST, The Automated Surface Observing System platform at Worcester Airport measured a wind gust of 59 mph. There were several reports of trees brought down by the wind during the morning. A large tree fell on a car on Sutton Avenue in Oxford, killing a 50 year old man. A tree fell on an unoccupied house on ... | 51 kt wind | 1 | 1 | $14K |
| 2006-10-29 | High WindFranklin County · forecast zone Eastern Franklin Trees were blown down in Deerfield and Northfield. One tree fell on a motorcyclist in Deerfield, resulting in a fataility. The peak wind gust in Orange was 47 mph. | 50 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $12K |
| 1998-11-26 | Strong WindWorcester County · forecast zone Southern Worcester An intensifying low pressure system moved northeast across southern New England on Thanksgiving Day. Most of central and eastern Massachusetts was affected by strong winds. Gusty south to southeast winds occurred in advance of the approaching system, and strong west to northwest winds followed in its wake. One person ... | 1 | 0 | – |
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 high wind and dust records in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-26 | High WindPlymouth County · forecast zone Eastern Plymouth One storm episode: 8 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 76 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $7.2M |
| 2012-10-29 | Hurricane Sandy · High WindSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 54 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $5.8M |
| 2005-12-09 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 64 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2.3M |
| 2006-02-17 | High WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Western Middlesex One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 58 kt wind | 1 | 3 | $1.8M |
| 2006-01-18 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 61 kt wind | 1 | 0 | $1.0M |
| 2006-10-28 | High WindEssex County · forecast zone Eastern Essex | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $659K |
| 2005-03-08 | High WindPlymouth County · forecast zone Eastern Plymouth / Also Part Of Norfolk One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $604K |
| 2010-02-25 | High WindEssex County · forecast zone Eastern Essex | 58 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $541K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are high wind and dust records 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 | 901 | 14,026 | 6.4% |
| 2000s | 735 | 37,254 | 2.0% |
| 2010s | 1,415 | 41,748 | 3.4% |
| 2020-26 | 675 | 36,300 | 1.9% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent high wind and dust records in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-16 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Southern Berkshire | 45 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-16 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 48 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-07 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 40 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-23 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Southern Berkshire | 39 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-23 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 39 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-11 | High WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 51 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-29 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Southern Berkshire | 39 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-29 | Strong WindBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 47 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable | 59 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindBristol County · forecast zone Southern Bristol | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $2K |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindNorfolk County and Suffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2025-12-19 | High WindNorfolk County · forecast zone Eastern Norfolk | 69 kt wind | 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.
Next
- Dukes County: the county's whole recordThe Massachusetts county with the most high wind and dust records per square mile
- High wind and dust storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
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