Dukes County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 51 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 37.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #3,044 nationally and #13 in Massachusetts.
51
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$39K
Property damage
The record
What the Dukes County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Dukes County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 0.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 15 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 5 events fall before 1990 and 46 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $16K 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 Dukes County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 19 | 0 | $16K | 80 | 1973–2021 |
| Hail | 10 | 0 | $2K | 2 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2014–2020 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 2017–2017 |
| Waterspout | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1999 |
| Tornado | 1 | 0 | $0 | F2 | 1951–1951 |
Decade by decade
Dukes County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
1 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 1 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-12-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Beach Road and Main Street were closed in Edgartown due to flooding. In Vineyard Haven, a car was stuck in flood waters on Water Street near the Black Dog bakery. The bakery itself was flooded with a foot of water. Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs was flooded and impassable. In West Tisbury, Beach Road was flooded and impassable in the area of the gas tanks.
Amateur radio operators reported two mesonet wind gust observations from Edgartown…58 mph at Cape Poge at 615 PM EST and 69 mph at Chappy Ferry Point. The Edgartown Police reported half of a tree down on School Street at 630 PM EST.
An intense early morning thunderstorm was accompanied by gusty winds, torrential rain, and half-inch diameter hail. Trees and branches were reported blown down and there were widespread power outages caused by the winds and numerous
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,933
Population (ACS)
$1.2M
Median home value
22
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 |
| Apr 13, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 19, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Dukes County, Massachusetts?
51 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $39K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Dukes County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 19 recorded events — 37.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Dukes County?
1 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 1 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Dukes County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Dukes County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Dukes County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dukes County as very low risk, placing it in the 17 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Dukes 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
- Bristol County 521
- Essex County 663
- Berkshire County 1,004
- Franklin County 702
- Barnstable County 269
- Hampden County 910
Cite this page
“Dukes County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/dukes-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.