Essex County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 663 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #451 nationally and #6 in Massachusetts.
663
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$50.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Essex County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Essex County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 9.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 274 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 79 events fall before 1990 and 584 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Essex County, Massachusetts record is lightning, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $20.6M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Essex County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 346 | 1 | $7.9M | 100 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 98 | 0 | $155K | 3.5 | 1957–2023 |
| Flood | 82 | 2 | $20.6M | 0 | 2006–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 55 | 0 | $19.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 49 | 3 | $1.2M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $563K | F2 | 1951–1991 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Essex County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-11-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-08-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 25.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-08-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Essex County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2014 | Lightning | CONOMO PT | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| May 13, 2006 | Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $7.0M |
| Jun 20, 2008 | Lightning | HAVERHILL ARPT | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 21, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Mar 30, 2010 | Flood | NEWBURY | 0 | 2 | $3.3M |
| Jun 16, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 8, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two women were struck by lightning while walking towards the parking lot from the beach at Crane's Beach in Ipswich. One was a 61 year old woman from Connecticut, the other a 69 year old woman from Massachusetts. Both went into cardiac arrest and were given CPR before being transported to Beverly Hospital and then to Massachusetts General Hospital's burn unit. The 61 year old woman died of her injuries the evening of September 6th. The 69 year old succumbed to her injuries a week later on September 13th.
Local police reported numerous trees blown down. At the Beverly Airport, a wind gust to an estimated 70 to 75 mph occurred during a severe thunderstorm, flipping over several light aircraft and damaging a total of 14 aircraft. Five were damaged beyond repair.
Numerous streets were closed due to flooding. Approximately 500 houses experienced some sort of flooding, 100 of these houses had to have the electricity cut off to prevent further problems related to basement flooding. Water levels in houses were reported to be between 4 and 9 feet deep. Six houses on Elmwood Road had at least 8 feet of water on the 1st floor. On Paradise Road between the 300 block and 1000 block, 90 percent of the businesses had water damage. Orchard, Bradley, and Elmwood Roads, Humphrey, Burrill, New Ocean, and Columbia Streets, Shepard and Atlantic Avenues, and Sculpin Way were still closed around 2pm because of flooding, several hours after rain had stopped. One elementary school was closed, while other schools in the area delayed opening because of the flooding. In Lynn, Chatham Street was closed due to flooding and approximately 180 homes experienced severe flooding in the basements. Seven city buildings sustained water damage, the worst being Harrington Elementary and Marshall Middle School with water coming in from below and through the roof.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
813,054
Population (ACS)
$619K
Median home value
40
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Mar 27, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 19, 2018 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jun 25, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 13, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Essex County, Massachusetts?
663 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 6 direct deaths and $50.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Essex County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 346 recorded events — 52.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Essex County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Essex County?
40 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Essex County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Essex County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Essex County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Essex County, Massachusetts severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Dukes County 51
- Franklin County 702
- Bristol County 521
- Hampden County 910
- Berkshire County 1,004
- Hampshire County 641
Cite this page
“Essex County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/essex-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.