Massachusetts winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 14 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,028 winter storm records in Massachusetts from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 96 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the February 8, 2013 heavy snow: 3 deaths and $747,000 in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Massachusetts ranks 36th of 51 states and territories by count and 5th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Massachusetts, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm 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
- 3,0281996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 96average
- Deaths
- 1293 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $134Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 1996213 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 winter storm records common in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts averages about 96 winter storm records a year since 2000, 36th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1996 (213). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Massachusetts records 3882 winter storm records since 1996, 5th of 50 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 winter storm records?
Per square mile, Dukes County leads Massachusetts: 51 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 494.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Berkshire County has the most winter storm records (415 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 winter storm season in Massachusetts?
52% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is February (801 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 783 · Feb 801 · Mar 578 · Apr 116 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 41 · Nov 98 · Dec 611 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Massachusetts?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-02-08 | Heavy SnowSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; 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 | $747K | |
| 2015-01-26 | BlizzardBarnstable County · forecast zone Barnstable One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; 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 | 0 | – | |
| 1998-03-12 | Winter WeatherMiddlesex County · forecast zone Western Middlesex A fast moving snow squall suddenly dropped visibility to near zero on Interstate Route 495 in Boxborough and resulted in a pile-up of 30 to 35 vehicles and the deaths of two people. A 45-year-old man and a 3-month-old infant died. Motorists were blinded by the snow. A thin coating of ice which quickly formed on the ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2016-02-05 | Heavy SnowNorfolk County · forecast zone Western Norfolk One to eleven inches of snow fell across western Norfolk County. Two separate fatalities occurred in Canton due to falling tree limbs. A tree limb fell onto a six year old girl playing in her backyard on Indian Lane. On Longmeadow Drive in Canton, a tree limb fell late in the evening onto a 48 year old man tending an ... | 2 | 0 | $123K | |
| 2017-02-08 | Winter WeatherNorfolk County · forecast zone Western Norfolk One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Low pressure wave developed east of Massachusetts along a warm front during the early morning of the 8th. This drew a surge of colder air across the Metropolitan Boston area during the early morning. The colder air combined with wet surface to create icy road surfaces. In addition, a short period of freezing rain ... | 1 | 8 | $361K | |
| 2015-02-02 | Heavy SnowNorfolk County · forecast zone Eastern Norfolk Ten to seventeen inches of snow fell across eastern Norfolk County. A 57 year old female was struck and killed by a snowplow in the parking lot of the Tara Gardens condominium complex. A 67 year old woman sustained non-life threatening injuries after she was struck by a plow truck in Cohasset. | 1 | 1 | – | |
| 2008-12-11 | Ice StormMiddlesex County · forecast zone Western Middlesex One storm episode: 10 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. A cold frontal boundary dropped south of New England on the evening of the 10th. Low pressure developed along the frontal boundary across the southeastern states late on the night of the 10th into the 11th. The low then tracked rapidly to the northeast, spreading a significant amount of precipitation into New England. ... | 1 | 0 | $36M |
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 winter storm records in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-12-11 | Ice StormMiddlesex County · forecast zone Western Middlesex One storm episode: 10 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $36M | |
| 1996-01-07 | Heavy SnowSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk One storm episode: 23 records in 14 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $36M | |
| 2001-03-30 | Heavy SnowFranklin County · forecast zone Western Franklin | 0 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2011-10-29 | Heavy SnowHampden County · forecast zone Eastern Hampden | 0 | 0 | $10M | |
| 2011-02-01 | Winter StormNorfolk County · forecast zone Western Norfolk One storm episode: 8 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $7.2M | |
| 2001-03-09 | Heavy SnowFranklin County · forecast zone Western Franklin | 0 | 0 | $5.0M | |
| 1997-04-01 | Heavy SnowSuffolk County · forecast zone Suffolk / Also Part Of Norfolk One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 1 | $4.6M | |
| 1996-12-07 | Heavy SnowFranklin County · forecast zone Eastern Franklin One storm episode: 11 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.6M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm 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 | 483 | 32,893 | 1.5% |
| 2000s | 923 | 88,805 | 1.0% |
| 2010s | 1,219 | 103,626 | 1.2% |
| 2020-26 | 403 | 62,015 | 0.6% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Massachusetts
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormBerkshire County · forecast zone Northern Berkshire | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormBerkshire County · forecast zone Southern Berkshire | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormNantucket County · forecast zone Nantucket | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormMiddlesex County · forecast zone Northwest Middlesex County | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormPlymouth County · forecast zone Southern Plymouth | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormPlymouth County · forecast zone Western Plymouth | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormBristol County · forecast zone Northern Bristol | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormNorfolk County · forecast zone Eastern Norfolk | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Winter StormMiddlesex County · forecast zone Southeast Middlesex | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowHampden County · forecast zone Eastern Hampden | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowHampshire County · forecast zone Eastern Hampshire | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-22 | Heavy SnowHampden County · forecast zone Western Hampden | 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 winter storm records in Massachusetts
FEMA has declared 18 disasters in Massachusetts for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 11 were major disasters, the latest on June 30, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-30 | DR-4919 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 1 |
| 2022-04-18 | DR-4651 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 5 |
| 2018-07-19 | DR-4379 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 5 |
| 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 |
| 2012-01-06 | DR-4051 | Severe Storm and Snowstorm | 6 |
| 2011-03-07 | DR-1959 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 7 |
| 2009-01-05 | DR-1813 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 7 |
| 2008-12-13 | EM-3296 | Severe Winter Storm | 9 |
| 2005-02-17 | EM-3201 | Record and/Or Near Record Snow | 14 |
| 2004-01-15 | EM-3191 | Snow | 12 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Dukes County: the county's whole recordThe Massachusetts county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms 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
- Floods in Massachusetts1,890 records