Strafford County, New Hampshire severe weather history spans 256 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,068 nationally and #10 in New Hampshire.
256
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$13.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Strafford County, New Hampshire severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Strafford County, New Hampshire severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 102 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 25 events fall before 1990 and 231 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Strafford County, New Hampshire record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $5.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Strafford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 127 | 1 | $5.0M | 70 | 1971–2025 |
| Hail | 71 | 0 | $1K | 2.5 | 1962–2023 |
| Lightning | 28 | 0 | $533K | 0 | 1996–2008 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $2.4M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $2.8M | 0 | 2006–2022 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $2.9M | F2 | 1953–2008 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Strafford County, New Hampshire severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-24 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 50.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-07-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-05-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-08-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Strafford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | MILTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 28, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | BOW LAKE VLG | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2007 | Lightning | NEW DURHAM | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 1996 | Lightning | BARRINGTON | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2005 | Lightning | ROCHESTER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2005 | Lightning | MIDDLETON CORNERS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 15, 2004 | Lightning | DOVER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 1996 | Lightning | MIDDLETON | 0 | 1 | $2K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds downed numerous large trees, destroying one home and damaging others in Northwood, Nottingham, and Barrington. A police officer and several other witnesses observed a tornado on the ground near North River Pond in Barrington. Most of the property damage (estimated at $500,000 to $1,000,000) resulted from straight-line winds, not the tornado. (This thunderstorm produced another F0 tornado in York County, ME).
An E-F1 tornado, moving north northeast out of Belknap County, entered Strafford County approximately 2.2 miles north northwest of New Durham. The storm skipped along for more than 8 miles before exiting into Carroll County. The intensity of the tornado varied between F0 and F2, and numerous trees were blown down along the path of the storm.
Multiple road washouts from heavy rain and snowmelt in Farmington on the morning of December 23. The reported washouts were at Reservoir Road after Mederboro Road, Russell Lane after Ten Rod Road, at 79 Hawthorn Hill Road, Poor Farm Road between Meaderboro Road and Ten Rod Road. There was additional flooding at Hornetown Road and Willow Lane and NH 153 between Webster Street and Mt. Vernon Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
132,575
Population (ACS)
$363K
Median home value
25
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Mar 25, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Mar 19, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Oct 30, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Strafford County, New Hampshire?
256 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $13.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Strafford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 127 recorded events — 49.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Strafford County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Strafford County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Strafford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Strafford County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Strafford County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 64 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Strafford County, New Hampshire 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
- Rockingham County 537
- Sullivan County 263
- Merrimack County 460
- Hillsborough County 507
- Grafton County 775
- Coos County 364
Cite this page
“Strafford County, New Hampshire.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-hampshire/strafford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.