Norfolk County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 562 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #686 nationally and #8 in Massachusetts.
562
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
34
Direct injuries
$68.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Norfolk County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Norfolk County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 179 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 28 events fall before 1990 and 534 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Norfolk County, Massachusetts record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $34.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Norfolk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 250 | 0 | $1.2M | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 86 | 0 | $25.1M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Hail | 82 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1965–2024 |
| Lightning | 56 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 51 | 0 | $34.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 21 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Tornado | 15 | 1 | $4.1M | F3 | 1953–2023 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 1 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Norfolk County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-06-09 | EF3 | 0 | 17 | 28.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-11-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-08-09 | EF1 | 1 | 6 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-08-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-08-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-10-07 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Norfolk County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 1972 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $25K | |
| Jun 9, 1953 | Tornado | 0 | 15 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 8, 1996 | Lightning | NORFOLK | 0 | 7 | $0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | Lightning | MILTON | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2020 | Lightning | MIDLAND | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 2012 | Lightning | FOXBOROUGH | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2010 | Lightning | WRENTHAM | 0 | 1 | $20K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A Flash Flood emergency occurred, with considerable damage in the vicinity of Norwood Hospital. Severe flooding, more than 4 feet deep, occurred in the basement of the hospital. The entire pharmacy inventory was destroyed. One hundred patients had to be evacuated. Numerous cars were submerged in the parking lot, which, albeit, is in a 'bowl' not designed with flooding in mind. Damage to the hospital was estimated at $20,000,000. In addition, emergency management officials said that approximately 250 homes suffered flood damage.
Four to six inches of rain fell across Norfolk County, resulting in the Charles River at Dover and the Neponset River at Norwood rising to major flood.||Several small streams rose above flood stage across Norfolk County, including the Charles River at Medway which set a record, the Monatiquot River at East Braintree, and the Old Swamp River at South Weymouth. ||Many basements were flooded in Norfolk and Westwood. Numerous streets were closed due to flooding in Holbrook, Medfield, Bellingham, Franklin, Westwood, Medway, Norfolk, Walpole, Quincy, Weymouth, and Millis.||In Bellingham, one family was evacuated from a house on Pine Grove Avenue. The Primavera School on Harpin Street also had some flooding.
Lightning struck an eight unit condominium building setting fire to the attic. The fire engulfed the entire building, destroying the condos. One firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion while trying to extinguish the fire.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
730,082
Population (ACS)
$684K
Median home value
38
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE LEE | EM |
| Apr 18, 2022 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Norfolk County, Massachusetts?
562 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $68.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Norfolk County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 250 recorded events — 44.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Norfolk County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Norfolk County?
38 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Norfolk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Norfolk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Norfolk County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 92 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Norfolk 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
- Nantucket County 25
- Plymouth County 438
- Middlesex County 1,134
- Suffolk County 255
- Hampshire County 641
- Worcester County 1,258
Cite this page
“Norfolk County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/norfolk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.