52
Recorded events
92
Direct deaths
1,254
Direct injuries
$264.3M
Property damage
Tornado in Worcester County, Massachusetts: 52 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #352 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Worcester County, Massachusetts: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Worcester County is the 1950s, when 11 of the county's 52 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, tornado makes up 4.1% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #352 for this hazard and #1 within Massachusetts, putting it in the 88.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for tornado in Worcester County with 16 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-06-09 | EF4 | 34.9 mi | 900 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-06-01 | EF3 | 37.6 mi | 880 yd | Crossed in |
| 1970-10-03 | EF3 | 35.4 mi | 60 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-22 | EF3 | 7.1 mi | 167 yd | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-09 | EF3 | 28.0 mi | 667 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-08-10 | EF2 | 9.7 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-08-09 | EF2 | 9.7 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-31 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
| 1963-05-20 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1963-05-20 | EF2 | 3.8 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1953 | F4 | 90 | 1,228 | $250.0M | |
| Aug 10, 1979 | F2 | 2 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 1, 1956 | F1 | 0 | 14 | $25K | |
| Jun 22, 1981 | F3 | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Jul 1, 1971 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Aug 4, 2018 | WEBSTER | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $5.0M |
| Aug 9, 1972 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Aug 31, 1966 | F0 | 0 | 1 | $250 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6, 2025 | WEST BERLIN | EF0 | $5K |
| Sep 6, 2025 | HOLDEN | EF0 | $6K |
| Sep 6, 2025 | PAXTON | EF0 | $4K |
| Sep 6, 2025 | PAXTON | EF0 | $10K |
| Jul 16, 2023 | NORTH BROOKFIELD | EF0 | $7K |
| Aug 23, 2021 | EAST BOLTON | EF0 | $2K |
| Aug 19, 2021 | CLINTON | EF0 | $12K |
| Aug 19, 2021 | WEBSTER | EF0 | $10K |
| Oct 23, 2018 | HUBBARDSTON | EF0 | $0 |
| Oct 23, 2018 | HARDWICK | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Worcester County
- Thunderstorm Wind 660
- Hail 255
- Flood 119
- Flash Flood 78
- Lightning 75
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touchdown occurred near the intersection of Perry Avenue and Fairfax Road. A narrow well-defined damage path extended past Saint Vincent Hospital to Gordon Street. The most significant damage was to trees, some of which were uprooted or snapped. Some trees landed on cars causing significant damage to the cars. A couple of trees landed on houses, but there was little structural damage to the houses. A few windows were broken by tree branches.
At 1:41 AM EST, the parent thunderstorm of the Douglas tornado generated a second tornado that touched down in western Upton. The tornado touched down on Hartford Avenue South, crossed state route 140, and and produced most of its damage in the neighborhood of Ephram's Way. The tornado then moved northeast, lifting in Upton State Forest. Winds were estimated at 100 mph on Ephram's Way. The path length was about 1 mile, with a maximum width of 100 yards. The tornado was rated an EF-1.
At 132 AM EST, a tornado touched down near Maple Street in East Douglas and moved northeast through extreme northwest Uxbridge to southern Northbridge, where it lifted near Northbridge Middle School. The tornado was on the ground for 4.4 miles. The path width reached a maximum of 200 yards in East Douglas. Wind speeds were estimated at 100 mph. The tornado was an EF-1 in East Douglas, and then an EF-0 in Uxbridge and Northbridge.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Worcester County, Massachusetts?
52 tornado events are recorded in Worcester County between 1953 and 2025, causing 92 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Worcester County?
The strongest tornado on record in Worcester County measured F4.
Where does the tornado 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
“Tornado in Worcester County, Massachusetts.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/massachusetts/worcester-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.