Franklin County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 702 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 65.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #402 nationally and #5 in Massachusetts.
702
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$31.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Franklin County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Franklin County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 9.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 267 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 54 events fall before 1990 and 648 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Franklin County, Massachusetts record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $23.0M 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 Franklin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 458 | 1 | $3.6M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $5K | 2.25 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 40 | 0 | $23.0M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 38 | 0 | $3.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $1.1M | F2 | 1954–2017 |
| Lightning | 25 | 0 | $842K | 0 | 1997–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2000 |
Decade by decade
Franklin County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-08-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1955-07-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-02-25 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Franklin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | GREENFIELD | 1 | 0 | $5K |
| Jun 27, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Aug 3, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | ORANGE | 0 | 3 | $20K |
| Jul 5, 2018 | Lightning | TURNERS FALLS | 0 | 1 | $5K |
| Feb 26, 2017 | Tornado | SOUTH ASHFIELD | 0 | 1 | $400K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rowe Elementary School was completely destroyed by fire after being struck by lightning. Almost 125 firefighters from 19 neighboring towns as well as towns in nearby Vermont helped to fight the fire, but some were delayed by the heavy rain that fell at the same time. Some firefighters took nearly 45 minutes to reach the scene. Approximately 70 students attend the elementary school.
The second phase of this tornado touched down at 723 pm EST on Main Poland Road in western Conway Massachusetts. The path width started at 50 yards, with a sharp gradient evident of damage versus no damage. Large sections of forest had thick pine trees snapped at mid-tree. Numerous power lines were downed along the path into downtown Conway. The path width grew, reaching a maximum width of 200 yards near the town hall. Several houses were severely damaged on Whately Road, southeast of the town hall. Roofs were blown off, and in one case the side walls of a house were missing with the interior of the house exposed. On Hill View Road a large barn collapsed. One injury occurred when a tree landed on a house on South Deerfield Road east of town. That was where the visible damage path ended.
Numerous trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds across Sunderland. At least six of these trees landed on vehicles and another six landed on houses. A town administrator reported up to 27 utility poles were downed. A few of the reports received include: a tree down on a house on Old Amherst Road and trees down on Silver Lane.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
70,944
Population (ACS)
$329K
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 19, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 28, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | EM |
| Jan 6, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Franklin County, Massachusetts?
702 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $31.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Franklin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 458 recorded events — 65.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Franklin County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Franklin County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Franklin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Franklin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Franklin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 61 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Franklin 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
- Essex County 663
- Hampden County 910
- Dukes County 51
- Hampshire County 641
- Bristol County 521
- Middlesex County 1,134
Cite this page
“Franklin County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/franklin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.