Hampshire County, Massachusetts severe weather history spans 641 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 59.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #489 nationally and #7 in Massachusetts.
641
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$7.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Hampshire County, Massachusetts severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hampshire County, Massachusetts severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 213 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 597 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hampshire County, Massachusetts record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $2.3M 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 Hampshire County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 384 | 1 | $2.2M | 90 | 1960–2026 |
| Hail | 139 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1959–2025 |
| Lightning | 44 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $681K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 29 | 0 | $2.3M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $558K | F3 | 1954–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Hampshire County, Massachusetts severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-09-13 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1963-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-07-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-08-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-02-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-06-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hampshire County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | PLAINFIELD | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| May 4, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | AMHERST | 0 | 6 | $85K |
| Aug 9, 2013 | Lightning | WARE | 0 | 3 | $1K |
| May 21, 2013 | Lightning | GRANBY | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2023 | Lightning | PELHAM | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2009 | Lightning | WORTHINGTON CORNERS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | PELHAM | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 20, 2004 | Lightning | CUMMINGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Record flooding along the Mill River caused extensive flooding in Northampton. The river crested at 15.6 feet on the 16th, which was the highest crest on record, and well above the previous record crest of 13.7 feet which occurred in October, 2005. Many roads near the river were closed and some evacuations took place as flood waters threatened nearby homes and businesses.|Minor flooding also affected the mainstem Connecticut River through Northampton. A crest of 119 feet was recorded at 430 pm on the 17th (flood stage is 112 feet).
After receiving roughly four and a half inches of rain from Tropical Storm Irene, an overtopped dike resulted in the closure of West Street in Northampton. At exit 24 on Route 5, there was five to six feet of water flooding the road, with two cars floating down the road.
A tornado touched down in Goshen at Pine Road, just to the east of Hammond Pond. Several pine trees were snapped mid-way and two homes were damaged by trees falling onto them. A portion of Route 9 was closed between the Fire Station and the intersection with Route 112. There was significant tree damage on the southwest shore of Highland Lake, with numerous trees snapped half-way up from their bases and many uprooted. The tornado crossed Highland Lake and imagery received after-the-fact from town officials also indicated significant tree damage on the northeast side of Highland Lake from Camp Howe southward along Headquarters Road into the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) State Forest. The damage was consistent with 90 mph wind gusts, with a rating of EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.|The tornado was on the ground for 2.9 miles with a maximum width of 100 yards. It lasted from 718-721 PM before lifting up briefly and then touching down again in Conway, MA.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
162,028
Population (ACS)
$390K
Median home value
23
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 Hampshire County, Massachusetts?
641 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $7.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hampshire County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 384 recorded events — 59.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hampshire County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hampshire County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hampshire County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hampshire County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hampshire County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hampshire 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
- Hampden County 910
- Middlesex County 1,134
- Franklin County 702
- Nantucket County 25
- Essex County 663
- Norfolk County 562
Cite this page
“Hampshire County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/hampshire-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.