75
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
29
Direct injuries
$3.0M
Property damage
Lightning in Worcester County, Massachusetts: 75 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #12 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Lightning in Worcester County, Massachusetts: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for lightning in Worcester County is the 2000s, when 35 of the county's 75 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Worcester County archive, lightning makes up 6.0% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #12 for this hazard and #1 within Massachusetts, putting it in the 99.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for lightning in Worcester County with 28 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2006 | WORCESTER | 0 | 0 | 9 | $0 |
| Aug 9, 1997 | OAKHAM | 0 | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 1996 | SHREWSBURY | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2013 | SPENCER | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2003 | GARDNER | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 8, 1996 | NORTHBORO | 0 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2012 | BOYLSTON CENTER | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2009 | MILFORD | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2025 | ATHOL | 0 | $5K |
| Sep 8, 2023 | MILLBURY | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 22, 2023 | OXFORD ARPT | 0 | $4K |
| Jun 6, 2023 | WEBSTER | 0 | $100K |
| Jun 2, 2023 | SPENCER | 0 | $800K |
| Sep 22, 2022 | BELLEVUE | 0 | $5K |
| Aug 5, 2022 | FAYVILLE | 0 | $10K |
| Jul 2, 2022 | DUDLEY HILL | 0 | $800 |
| Sep 28, 2021 | DUDLEY HILL | 0 | $800 |
| Jul 16, 2021 | MT ST JAMES | 0 | $2K |
Other hazards here
More from Worcester County
- Thunderstorm Wind 660
- Hail 255
- Flood 119
- Flash Flood 78
- Tornado 52
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning caused a massive 6-alarm fire that destroyed a 160-year old church in Spencer, MA. The steeple of the First Congregational United Church came crashing down and this made national news. The rest of the building was destroyed. A detailed analysis of lightning strike data showed that one strike a little north of the church occurred at 2:24:47 PM EDT but a closer one occurred at 2:29:16 PM EDT. That was most likely the one that caused the blaze. No injuries were reported. Damage figure is estimated.
In Webster at 411 PM EDT (311 PM EST), lightning caused a house fire on Colonial Road. Subsequent follow-up with the fire department revealed that there was $100,000 in water damage to the home from extinguishing the fire.
Lightning struck near a house on Bay Path Road. While several homeowners claimed to have experienced electrical problems with the lightning strike, firefighters found no damage within the houses. Two teenagers (one male, one female) outside manning a yard sale felt the lightning shock. One (male) declined transportation to the hospital, the other (female) was transported and kept overnight for observation.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many lightning events are on record in Worcester County, Massachusetts?
75 lightning events are recorded in Worcester County between 1996 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest lightning recorded in Worcester County?
The strongest lightning on record in Worcester County measured 0.
Where does the lightning data for Worcester County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Lightning in Worcester County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/worcester-county/lightning/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.