Coos County, New Hampshire severe weather history spans 364 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,412 nationally and #7 in New Hampshire.
364
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$14.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Coos County, New Hampshire severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Coos County, New Hampshire severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 161 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 326 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Coos County, New Hampshire record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $10.1M 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 Coos County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 175 | 2 | $560K | 75 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 62 | 0 | $2K | 2 | 1978–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 60 | 0 | $10.1M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 51 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $280K | F0 | 1956–2016 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $19K | 0 | 2012–2012 |
Decade by decade
Coos 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
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-07-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Coos County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 3, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | COOS JCT | 2 | 32 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | ERROL | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 1999 | Lightning | MT WASHINGTON | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2021 | Flash Flood | LANCASTER | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Jul 23, 2016 | Lightning | BASE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Mar 22, 1999 | Lightning | COLEBROOK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $50K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Gusty winds from a severe thunderstorm toppled and snapped trees along the Connecticut River and caused a circus tent to collapse at the Lancaster Fairgrounds. About 100 people were under the tent at the time it collapsed. A 41-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter were killed in the incident. Another 32 people were reported to have been treated at nearby hospitals. Winds were estimated to have gusted up to 75 mph in the hardest hit area along the Connecticut River where most of the tree damage occurred. No structural damage occurred to any of the permanent buildings at the fairgrounds.
Significant damage occurred on the Peabody River on December 18th following a heavy rain and rapid snowmelt event. The USGS river gage in Gorham went from under 100 cfs around midnight, to over 13,000 cfs by noon. The streamflows were estimated to be around the 1% annual exceedance or 100-year flood level. Rainfall amounts where estimated around 5 inches with an additional 3 inches of rapid snowmelt runoff. The ground conditions were frozen, supporting complete runoff. One home off Route 16 was deemed unlivable and a complete loss after floodwaters eroded the foundation. Property was also damaged at Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center near the headwaters. Downstream in Gorham the damage was most prevalent along Bell Street and after the confluence with the Androscoggin River. Major damage occurred downstream to the town of Shelburne.
Heavy rain combined with snowmelt caused significant runoff from the Presidential Mountain Range including portions of the Androscoggin River in Gorham. Thanks in part to dam controls on this portion of the Androscoggin River, the river only reached minor flood stage. The river gage at Gorham cresting at 8.7 feet on the 19th. However, further downstream from Shelburne to Bethel the flooding was major due to additional contributions from the surrounding mountains. In Gorham, the river flooded parking lots of businesses on Main Street. A combination of the Androscoggin River, Moose River, Moose Brook, and Peabody Rivers caused severe flooding of the Androscoggin Valley Country Club grounds. In Shelburne, several roads were flooded including US Route 2 at Route 16 and North Road. North Road flooded up to Philbrook Farm Inn between Meadow Road and Larry Brook Road. In addition, the bridge was flooded by the Shelburne Dam. Upriver the flooding was limited to Berlin City's Pollution Control Plant which sustained damage to pipes releasing effluent into the river.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,271
Population (ACS)
$189K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 27, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Coos County, New Hampshire?
364 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $14.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Coos County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 175 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Coos County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Coos County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Coos County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Coos County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Coos County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 73 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Coos 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
- Cheshire County 567
- Grafton County 775
- Carroll County 405
- Hillsborough County 507
- Belknap County 281
- Merrimack County 460
Cite this page
“Coos County, New Hampshire.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-hampshire/coos-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.