New Hampshire severe thunderstorm wind
Every recorded severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955 · 10 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,368 severe thunderstorm wind events in New Hampshire from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 70 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the August 18, 1991 thunderstorm wind in Rockingham County: 3 deaths and 11 injuries. New Hampshire ranks 41st of 52 states and territories by count and 28th of 51 per square mile.
Severe thunderstorm wind in New Hampshire, 1955 to 2026
Thunderstorm wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- 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: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 2,3681955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 70average
- Deaths
- 1182 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $26Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2022115 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 severe thunderstorm wind events common in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire averages about 70 severe thunderstorm wind events a year since 2000, 41st of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (115). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Hampshire records 2645 severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955, 28th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, 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 severe thunderstorm wind events?
Per square mile, Cheshire County leads New Hampshire: 171 days with a severe thunderstorm wind event since 1955, 242.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Grafton County has the most thunderstorm wind records (408 since 1955); 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 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is the severe thunderstorm season in New Hampshire?
57% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is July (847 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2 · Feb 3 · Mar 16 · Apr 14 · May 266 · Jun 498 · Jul 847 · Aug 467 · Sep 178 · Oct 52 · Nov 8 · Dec 17 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
What were the deadliest severe thunderstorm wind events in New Hampshire?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-08-18 | Thunderstorm WindRockingham County | 3 | 11 | – | |
| 2015-08-03 | Thunderstorm WindCoos Jct, Coos County Gusty winds from a severe thunderstorm toppled and snapped trees along the Connecticut River and caused a circus tent to collapse at the Lancaster Fairgrounds. About 100 people were under the tent at the time it collapsed. A 41-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter were killed in the incident. Another 32 people ... | 65 kt wind | 2 | 32 | – |
| 2015-07-19 | Thunderstorm WindPuckershire, Sullivan County A severe thunderstorm downed trees on Sugar River Drive and Chestnut Street in Claremont. a 24-year-old man was killed when a tree uprooted and fell on the car he was driving. | 60 kt wind | 1 | 0 | – |
| 1999-07-06 | Thunderstorm WindSanbornton, Belknap County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Severe thunderstorm winds caused damage statewide as downed trees blocked roads and caused power outages. The winds also damaged several buildings. In Sanbornton, a 60 foot pine tree fell on a car killing the driver. An F2 tornado touched down in Pittsfield, moved through Barnstead, and then into Strafford before ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-07-06 | Thunderstorm WindAmherst, Hillsborough County Severe thunderstorms moved across southern New Hampshire in advance of a strong cold front, resulting in widespread wind damage in Cheshire and Hillsborough Counties. For the fourth day in a row, temperatures peaked well up into the 90s along with high humidity. In Cheshire County, the storms downed trees and wires in ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 2006-09-24 | Thunderstorm WindMilton, Strafford County Strong winds associated with a line of showers and thunderstorms toppled a tree onto a car in the town of Milton. The 21-year-old female driver of the car from Milton Mills was killed in the incident. According to police, no other trees fell in the area. | 45 kt wind | 1 | 0 | – |
| 2000-06-17 | Thunderstorm WindWindham, Rockingham County A 39-year old woman was killed when the strong winds which preceded a thunderstorm caused a 57 ft section of a tree to break off from the base and fall on her at the Windham Town Beach at Cobbetts Pond. The woman was on an outing to the beach with two young children at the time of the incident. Reportedly, there were ... | 1 | 0 | – | |
| 1994-08-21 | Thunderstorm WindMerrimack County Increasing winds capsized a sailboat during a boat race on Lake Sunnapee, drowning the captain. The winds, estimated at 50 mph, were apparently associated with a thunderstorm gust front. (M59O) | 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 severe thunderstorm wind events in New Hampshire
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-08-02 | Thunderstorm WindNew Hampshie, Strafford County | 0 | 0 | $10M | |
| 1994-07-26 | Thunderstorm WindCarroll County Every thunderstorm wind record filed in the state that day (2; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0 | 1 | $10.0M | |
| 1993-08-31 | Thunderstorm WindCountywide, Coos County | 0 | 0 | $1.0M | |
| 2024-07-16 | Thunderstorm WindSouth Milford, Hillsborough County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 83 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $941K |
| 2010-06-06 | Thunderstorm WindHarrisville, Cheshire County | 92 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $271K |
| 2020-08-22 | Thunderstorm WindMirror Lake, Carroll County | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $171K |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindMirror Lake, Carroll County One storm episode: 35 records in 9 places; the totals are the episode's. | 87 kt wind | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| 2022-07-21 | Thunderstorm WindMelvin Vlg, Carroll County One storm episode: 2 records; the totals are the episode's. | 70 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $111K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are severe thunderstorm wind events 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.
| Decade | New Hampshire | United States | New Hampshire's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 7 | 3,482 | 0.20% |
| 1960s | 28 | 10,124 | 0.28% |
| 1970s | 58 | 18,714 | 0.31% |
| 1980s | 149 | 39,604 | 0.38% |
| 1990s | 236 | 85,554 | 0.28% |
| 2000s | 454 | 129,990 | 0.35% |
| 2010s | 885 | 161,286 | 0.55% |
| 2020-26 | 551 | 126,815 | 0.43% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent severe thunderstorm wind events in New Hampshire
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindTowles Corner, Rockingham County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindMartin, Merrimack County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindHopkinton, Merrimack County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindAustin Corners, Rockingham County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindWarner, Merrimack County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindRoby, Merrimack County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindBlodgett Lndg, Merrimack County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindSunapee, Sullivan County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-26 | Thunderstorm WindSouth Cornish, Sullivan County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindClaremont, Sullivan County | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindAlton, Belknap County | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-18 | Thunderstorm WindStrafford Corner, Strafford County | 52 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.
Federal disaster declarations for severe thunderstorm wind events in New Hampshire
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 27 declarations in New Hampshire, 25 of them major disasters; the latest on August 20, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-08-20 | DR-4812 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 2 |
| 2024-04-19 | DR-4771 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2024-02-27 | DR-4761 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 3 |
| 2023-03-15 | DR-4693 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 4 |
| 2021-09-30 | DR-4622 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 1 |
| 2019-08-15 | DR-4457 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 1 |
| 2018-01-02 | DR-4355 | Severe Storm and Flooding | 6 |
| 2017-08-09 | DR-4329 | Severe Storms and Flooding | 2 |
| 2017-06-01 | DR-4316 | Severe Winter Storm | 2 |
| 2015-03-25 | DR-4209 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 3 |
| 2013-08-02 | DR-4139 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 3 |
| 2013-03-19 | DR-4105 | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm | 8 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Cheshire County: the county's whole recordThe New Hampshire county with the most severe thunderstorm wind events per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New HampshireTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Winter storms in New Hampshire2,612 records
- Floods in New Hampshire1,048 records
- Hail in New Hampshire960 records