PlainHazard

New Hampshire drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 10 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 273 drought records in New Hampshire from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 33 a year since 2000. The costliest was the November 1, 2020 drought ($10.3 million in 2025 dollars). New Hampshire ranks 38th of 51 states and territories by count and 20th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in New Hampshire, 1996 to 2026

Drought 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
2731996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
33average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$21Mas filed
Busiest year
202662 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 drought records common in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire averages about 33 drought records a year since 2000, 38th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (62). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Hampshire records 305 drought records since 1996, 20th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 20. New Hampshire 305

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 New Hampshire have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Strafford County leads New Hampshire: 23 days with a drought record since 1996, 62.6 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Rockingham County has the most drought records (45 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).

  1. Strafford County 62.6 (23)
  2. Belknap County 47.3 (19)
  3. Sullivan County 35.3 (19)
  4. Rockingham County 33.1 (45)
  5. Merrimack County 22.5 (21)
  6. Carroll County 20.4 (38)
  7. Hillsborough County 13.7 (21)
  8. Coos County 13.4 (43)
  9. Grafton County 11.1 (37)
  10. Cheshire County 9.9 (7)

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 drought season in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire's drought records by month. The busiest month is September (37 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 10 · Feb 11 · Mar 13 · Apr 24 · May 24 · Jun 17 · Jul 13 · Aug 31 · Sep 37 · Oct 28 · Nov 33 · Dec 32 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in New Hampshire

New Hampshire: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2020-11-01 DroughtRockingham County · forecast zone Coastal Rockingham One storm episode: 6 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $10M
2020-10-01 DroughtBelknap County · forecast zone Belknap One storm episode: 15 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $10M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire'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.

Drought: New Hampshire and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeNew HampshireUnited StatesNew Hampshire's share
1996-99485,6000.86%
2000s6018,5710.32%
2010s031,4410
2020-2616530,1470.55%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in New Hampshire

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtHillsborough County · forecast zone Western And Central Hillsborough 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtHillsborough County · forecast zone Eastern Hillsborough 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtRockingham County · forecast zone Interior Rockingham 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtRockingham County · forecast zone Coastal Rockingham 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtBelknap County · forecast zone Belknap 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCarroll County · forecast zone Southern Carroll 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCarroll County · forecast zone Northern Carroll 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCoos County · forecast zone Southern Coos 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtCoos County · forecast zone Northern Coos 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtGrafton County · forecast zone Southern Grafton 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtGrafton County · forecast zone Northern Grafton 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtMerrimack County · forecast zone Merrimack 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.

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