Nantucket County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 25 recorded events between 1958 and 2023. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 28.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,138 nationally and #14 in Massachusetts.
25
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$21K
Property damage
The record
What the Nantucket County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nantucket County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 0.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 7 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 2 events fall before 1990 and 23 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is lightning, with $12K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Nantucket County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6 | 0 | $4K | 71 | 1958–2023 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2006–2020 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $12K | 0 | 2016–2023 |
| Hail | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0.75 | 1982–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Nantucket County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Nantucket Mirror newspaper reported two lightning strikes that caused damage. The first strike was to a home on Friendship lane, causing a small portion of the wall to be blown out and the flashing near the chimney to be bent upward. The second strike was to the Nantucket High School, causing a gymnasium window to be broken.
On Nantucket, although the worst part of the storm passed just offshore to the north, on Jetties Beach tables were overturned and umbrellas broken at a restaurant. One person was hit by flying debris but not injured. Also, the fire department reported a tree down blocking Goose Pond Ln.
One of the control tower operators at Nantucket Memorial Airport reported flooding in the parking lot of the airport, with cars stalled due to the depth of the water. Amateur radio operators reported eight inches of water flooding Sparks Avenue. A report on social media indicated significant flooding in the main airport loop, but no stalled cars a couple of hours after the report from the control tower operator.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
14,483
Population (ACS)
$1.6M
Median home value
20
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 |
| Jun 25, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 13, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nantucket County, Massachusetts?
25 events are on record between 1958 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths and $21K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nantucket County?
Heavy Rain, with 7 recorded events — 28.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nantucket County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nantucket County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nantucket County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nantucket County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nantucket 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
- Middlesex County 1,134
- Norfolk County 562
- Hampshire County 641
- Plymouth County 438
- Hampden County 910
- Suffolk County 255
Cite this page
“Nantucket County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/nantucket-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.