PlainHazard

Massachusetts tornadoes

Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 13 counties with a record

Massachusetts has recorded 200 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 2.6 a year since 2000, with 9 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The deadliest was the June 9, 1953 Worcester tornado (94 deaths in Massachusetts). Massachusetts ranks 36th of 52 states and territories by count and 27th of 51 per square mile.

Tornadoes in Massachusetts, 1950 to 2025

Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).

  • 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
  • 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
Tornadoes
2001950 to 2025
A year since 2000
2.6average
Deaths
1091,562 injuries
F3/EF3 or stronger
95% of tornadoes
Busiest year
195812 tornadoes

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.

Are tornadoes common in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts averages about 2.6 tornadoes a year since 2000, 36th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1958 (12). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Massachusetts records 256 tornadoes since 1950, 27th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Florida 701
  2. 2. Oklahoma 658
  3. 3. Mississippi 614
  4. 4. Louisiana 579
  5. 5. Illinois 567
  6. 6. Kansas 564
  7. 7. Iowa 555
  8. 8. Alabama 537
  9. 9. Indiana 492
  10. 10. Maryland 438
  11. 27. Massachusetts 256

Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, 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 tornadoes?

Per square mile, Norfolk County leads Massachusetts: 13 days with a tornado record since 1950, 32.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Worcester County has the most tornado records (52 since 1950); 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).

  1. Norfolk County 32.8 (15)
  2. Franklin County 30.0 (25)
  3. Worcester County 24.5 (52)
  4. Hampden County 24.3 (19)
  5. Middlesex County 23.2 (21)
  6. Essex County 22.3 (12)
  7. Bristol County 19.9 (13)
  8. Berkshire County 17.3 (19)
  9. Hampshire County 17.1 (9)
  10. Barnstable County 15.2 (8)
  11. Plymouth County 13.7 (10)
  12. Dukes County 9.7 (1)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is tornado season in Massachusetts?

57% of its tornadoes since 1950 fell in July and August. The busiest month is July (66 tornadoes).

The values, month by month

Jan 0 · Feb 2 · Mar 1 · Apr 0 · May 15 · Jun 29 · Jul 66 · Aug 49 · Sep 19 · Oct 11 · Nov 6 · Dec 2 (records).

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.

What were the deadliest tornadoes in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts: the tornadoes with the most deaths in the state, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateKilledInjured
1953-06-09Worcester · WorcesterF434.9 mi941,228
1973-08-28BerkshireWhole track: MA, NY; 4 deathsF46.4 mi436
2011-06-01Westfield to Southbridge · Hampden, WorcesterEF337.58 mi3200
1995-05-29Great Barrington · BerkshireF411.5 mi324
1979-08-10WorcesterF29.7 mi22
1972-08-09Newton · NorfolkF14.9 mi16
1958-09-07PlymouthF00.1 mi11
1970-10-03Leominster · Worcester, MiddlesexF335.4 mi10

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (state segments: deaths and path inside Massachusetts), 1950-2025; counties are the first four the SPC lists for the segment. SPC severe weather database.

Where have the strongest tornadoes tracked in Massachusetts?

  • F2/EF2
  • F3/EF3
  • F4/EF4
  • F5/EF5
  • no end point filed
45 tornadoes rated 2 or higher drawn from start to end of the whole track (a track that crossed into Massachusetts from another state is drawn in full); 152 rated 0 or 1 are left off the map.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, start and end points of each track; county lines: Census Bureau cartographic boundaries (2017), via us-atlas. SPC severe weather database. Census cartographic boundary files.

The strongest tornadoes in Massachusetts

Massachusetts: the highest-rated tornadoes, 1950-2025
DateCountiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
1953-06-09Worcester · WorcesterF434.9 mi900 yd94
1973-08-28BerkshireF46.4 mi313 yd4
1995-05-29Great Barrington · BerkshireF411.5 mi300 yd3
2011-06-01Westfield to Southbridge · Hampden, WorcesterEF337.58 mi880 yd3
1970-10-03Leominster · Worcester, MiddlesexF335.4 mi60 yd1
1953-06-09Franklin · Worcester, Norfolk, BristolF328 mi667 yd0
1981-06-22WorcesterF37.1 mi167 yd0
1971-09-13Northampton · HampshireF30.5 mi10 yd0
1974-09-29Middlesex, EssexF30.1 mi33 yd0
1979-08-10WorcesterF29.7 mi30 yd2

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.

The longest tornado paths in Massachusetts

Massachusetts: the longest paths inside the state, 1950-2025
DateTornado and countiesRatingPath in stateWidthKilled
2011-06-01Westfield to Southbridge · Hampden, WorcesterEF337.58 mi880 yd3
1970-10-03Leominster · Worcester, MiddlesexF335.4 mi60 yd1
1953-06-09Worcester · WorcesterF434.9 mi900 yd94
1953-06-09Franklin · Worcester, Norfolk, BristolF328 mi667 yd0
1971-07-01Middlesex, EssexF125.2 mi10 yd0
1970-06-18Berkshire, FranklinF118.7 mi440 yd0
1970-08-17Franklin, WorcesterF116.7 mi10 yd0
1995-05-29Great Barrington · BerkshireF411.5 mi300 yd3
1972-08-09Baldwinville to Winchendon · WorcesterF29.7 mi10 yd0
1979-08-10WorcesterF29.7 mi30 yd2

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.

Tornadoes in every Massachusetts county

All 13 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
Massachusetts: tornadoes whose track touched each county since 1950, most first
CountyTornadoesStrongest
Worcester County54F/EF4
Franklin County26F/EF2
Middlesex County21F/EF3
Hampden County20F/EF3
Berkshire County19F/EF4
Norfolk County15F/EF3
Bristol County14F/EF3
Essex County14F/EF3
Plymouth County11F/EF2
Hampshire County10F/EF3
Barnstable County8F/EF1
Dukes County2F/EF2
Suffolk County1F/EF2

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.

The costliest tornadoes in Massachusetts

Massachusetts: the most damaging tornadoes since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2011-06-01 TornadoWestfield, Hampden County A supercell thunderstorm developed over western Massachusetts. This storm strengthened and produced a long-lived, very significant tornado that did extensive damage across southwest and south central Massachusetts. This storm will be noted not only for its intensity, but also for the length of the continuous damage ... EF3 31.52 mi x 880 yd 3 200 $299M
2018-08-04 TornadoWebster, Worcester County In just about one minute, an EF-1 tornado, with maximum winds estimated at 110 mph, wreaked havoc in the easternmost portion of Dudley, MA and in the downtown portion of Webster, MA. It touched down along Route 12 (Schofield Avenue) to the west of Laprise Court in Dudley and traveled northeastward onto Main Street in ... EF1 0.47 mi x 300 yd 0 1 $5.9M
2014-07-28 TornadoChelsea, Suffolk County The tornado touched down in Chelsea, where a window was blown out on Dudley Street. However, the overwhelming majority of damage occurred in Revere. Most of the damage was rated EF-1, but EF-2 rated damage did occur near Revere Beach Parkway. From Chelsea, the tornado moved across the Chelsea River, directly across ... EF2 1.93 mi x 660 yd 0 6 $5.0M
2019-07-23 TornadoHarwich, Barnstable County The same supercell storm that produced the Barnstable-Yarmouth tornado went on to touch down again near the center of Harwich, MA at 1210 PM EDT (1110 AM EST). The initial touchdown was just east of Harwich Elementary School, just south of Parallel Street. It moved northeast through Harwich Center, passing just south ... EF1 2.77 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $4.2M
1997-07-03 TornadoMonterey, Berkshire County On July 3, a fast moving cold front crossed Berkshire County during the afternoon and evening hours. The front initiated four tornadoes. The Richmond F1 tornado is a continuation of the F2 tornado which occurred in Columbia County. This tornado downed trees and produced minor damage to one house as it diminished in ... F2 4.5 mi x 600 yd 0 0 $2.8M
2004-08-21 TornadoFranklin, Norfolk County F1 tornado F1 6 mi x 40 yd 0 0 $2.3M
2019-07-23 TornadoHyannis Port, Barnstable County A waterspout moved onshore just west of Kalmus Beach in Barnstable, MA at 1157 AM EDT (1057 AM EST). Winds gusted to 91 mph at a mesonet observation site at Kalmus. They had shifted from southeast to west-northwest with the passage of the tornado. The tornado continued moving northeastward at about 35 mph. The damage ... EF1 5.52 mi x 250 yd 0 0 $1.4M
2016-08-22 TornadoConcord, Middlesex County A tornado developed within an area of showers and thunderstorms moving through southern New England. This tornado touched down near the Cambridge Turnpike and headed northeast. Most of the damage was concentrated in an area beginning near the intersection of Lexington Road and Alcott Road and continuing up to the ... EF1 0.85 mi x 400 yd 0 0 $1.2M

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, in 2025 dollars.

Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Tornadoes: Massachusetts and the United States by decade
DecadeMassachusettsUnited StatesMassachusetts's share
1950s394,8370.81%
1960s366,8630.52%
1970s358,6330.41%
1980s178,2500.21%
1990s1512,2050.12%
2000s1012,8920.08%
2010s2512,2320.20%
2020-25238,2340.28%

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.

The most recent tornadoes in Massachusetts

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-09-06 TornadoHudson, Middlesex County EF0 2.38 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2025-09-06 TornadoWest Berlin, Worcester County EF0 0.6 mi x 150 yd 0 0 $5K
2025-09-06 TornadoHolden, Worcester County EF0 0.15 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $6K
2025-09-06 TornadoPaxton, Worcester County EF0 0.13 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $4K
2025-09-06 TornadoPaxton, Worcester County EF0 0.17 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $10K
2024-06-26 TornadoAdamsdale, Bristol County EF1 4.3 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $28K
2024-06-26 TornadoSeekonk, Bristol County EF1 0.55 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $5K
2023-09-13 TornadoNorth Attleboro, Bristol County EF0 0.07 mi x 70 yd 0 0 $5K
2023-08-18 TornadoSouth Weymouth Nas, Norfolk County EF1 0.35 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $10K
2023-08-18 TornadoStoughton, Norfolk County EF0 0.1 mi x 35 yd 0 0 $3K
2023-08-18 TornadoAdamsdale, Bristol County EF1 7.6 mi x 80 yd 0 0 $29K
2023-08-08 TornadoMarstons Mills Airport, Barnstable County EF0 1.2 mi x 650 yd 0 0 $2K

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 tornadoes in Massachusetts

FEMA has declared 2 disasters in Massachusetts for tornadoes, counting its incident type and declarations that name tornado in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 2 were major disasters, the latest on June 15, 2011.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
2011-06-15DR-1994Severe Storms and Tornadoes2
1953-06-11DR-7Tornado1

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

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