Belknap County, New Hampshire severe weather history spans 281 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,889 nationally and #8 in New Hampshire.
281
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
54
Direct injuries
$6.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Belknap County, New Hampshire severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Belknap County, New Hampshire severe weather history averages 4.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 98 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 25 events fall before 1990 and 256 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Belknap County, New Hampshire record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $3.9M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Belknap County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 148 | 1 | $168K | 91 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 64 | 0 | $0 | 2 | 1968–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 25 | 1 | $3.9M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Lightning | 20 | 0 | $607K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $864K | F2 | 1960–2020 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $815K | 0 | 1999–2023 |
Decade by decade
Belknap County, New Hampshire severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-24 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 50.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-07-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-07-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-07-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Belknap County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 7, 2008 | Flash Flood | WEST CENTER HARBOR | 1 | 2 | $700K |
| Jul 6, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | SANBORNTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2013 | Lightning | WEST ALTON | 0 | 30 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 1972 | Tornado | 0 | 7 | $25K | |
| Aug 13, 2003 | Lightning | BELMONT | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2012 | Lightning | WEIRS BEACH | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Oct 20, 2006 | Lightning | LACONIA | 0 | 3 | $20K |
| Jul 29, 2000 | Lightning | GILFORD | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain caused flash flooding in Ashland resulting in the death of a young girl and injuring her mother and brother as they tried to drive out of the flood waters in a local campground. Many roads were flooded or washed out in other areas of town.
An E-F2 tornado moving north northeast out of Rockingham County entered Belknap County about 2 miles southwest of South Barnstead near Province Road. The storm travaled almost 12 miles before crossing into Strafford County resulting in E-F0 to E-F2 damage. There were numerous houses and buildings that were damaged or destroyed by the tornado or by falling trees. In addition, there were thousands of downed trees and numerous power lines down along the path of the storm.
Significant tree damage was located in Sanbornton, NH that was consistent with a wet microburst. Numerous eye witnesses expressed that the strongest winds occurred with the heaviest downpour. Damage was variable in the downburst area with a general southeast fall direction to the trees being observed. There where two distinct pockets of damage that took hundreds of trees down, to include pine, oak and maple. Trees where both uprooted and snapped. In addition, hundreds of other trees where downed on the edges of the damage area, but damage was more sporadic in nature. Some structural damage did occur, but was mostly confined to sheds and shelter structures. A few vehicles were also damaged due to trees falling on them. Additional damage was likely further in the woods, but was not accessible for the damage survey. An estimated 500 trees were either snapped or blown down in the damage area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
64,659
Population (ACS)
$375K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 2024 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 14, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 15, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 2, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Belknap County, New Hampshire?
281 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $6.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Belknap County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 148 recorded events — 52.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Belknap County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Belknap County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Belknap County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Belknap County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Belknap County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Belknap County, New Hampshire 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
- Carroll County 405
- Cheshire County 567
- Coos County 364
- Grafton County 775
- Hillsborough County 507
- Merrimack County 460
Cite this page
“Belknap County, New Hampshire.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-hampshire/belknap-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.