Portsmouth

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Rockingham County, the county that contains Portsmouth.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Rockingham County, the county that contains Portsmouth.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Rockingham County, the county that contains Portsmouth.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for Rockingham County.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jan 13, 2024Coastal Flood, Coastal Rockingham$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In the Portsmouth region at the Seavey Island gauge, the tide reached 13.17 feet MLLW at 1212 pm. The storm surge was recorded at 3.33 feet. The Hampton, New Hampshire gage topped out at 14.20 feet MLLW with a storm surge of 4.20 feet. The water level at the Seavey Island and Hampton Tide gages were the highest ever recorded for their period of record. ||In Hampton, New Hampshire, flooding occurred off Ashworth Ave and Island Path. Winnacunnet Road was closed in Hampton as well as Route 101 along the Beach. Water reached a depth of up to three feet in places with water rescues required of residents. Business restaurants were flooded up to two feet deep along Route One in…

2. Jan 10, 2024Coastal Flood, Coastal Rockingham$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense and rapidly deepening area of low pressure over the Great Lakes region (975 mb) combined with modestly high astronomical tides to produce the third highest storm tide ever in Portland (records 1912-present). In the Portsmouth region at the relatively new Seavey Island gauge, the tide reached 12.46 feet (MLLW) at 9:36 am. The storm surge was recorded at 3.17 feet. The Hampton tide gage amazingly remained above flood stage for over four hours (from 805 am to 1215 pm), topping out at 13.56 feet (MLLW) with a storm surge of 4.16 feet near the time of high tide. This tide gage didn't have a long period record but the water level was the highest recorded since the install in…

3. Dec 23, 2022Coastal Flood, Coastal Rockingham$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Along the Seacoast of New Hampshire, the astronomical tide was 10.3 feet MLLW at 1030 am. The storm tide reached 13.2 feet MLLW due to an accompanying 2.9 foot storm surge. Flood stage is 11.0 feet MLLW in Hampton Beach. Significant flooding occurred in Rye and Hampton where ocean waters reached the top of the seawalls as waves crashed over. Water inundated route 1A along North Beach at least 3.5 feet deep. Debris such as rocks and sand was strewn over Ocean Boulevard from strong wave action. Water was estimated to be at least five feet deep on portions of Route 1A in Hampton during the peak of the storm. Sections of Route 100 were closed as well as Route 1 on the Hampton and…

4. Oct 29, 2006Strong Wind, Interior Rockingham$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds uprooted several trees in Atkinson one of which fell on a parked car on RT 111.

5. Apr 16, 2007Coastal Flood, Coastal Rockingham$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   High astronomical tides combined with strong northeast winds and large battering waves to produce severe coastal flooding across most of the New Hampshire coast. Many roads were closed and residents evacuated. Damage to marinas, buoys, docks and coastal property was significant. Severe damage occurred on Star Island. Sea walls were completely flattened at Rye Beach. Channel markers went adrift from their 20,000 pound blocks, causing navigation problems for mariners. Water and waves were over the roads along the coast, including Hampton Beach. Waves moved rocks onto the road in North Hampton. Tidal river flooding occurred along the Exeter River.

6. Oct 20, 1996Flash Flood$4.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A coastal storm which was fed tropical moisture by the circulation around Hurricane Lily produced 8 to 13 inches of rain throughout the County during a 30-hour period. Many homes and businesses were flooded. Roads and bridges were washed out. Several dams were damaged.

7. Feb 25, 2010Flood$4.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain of 5 to 8 inches resulted in county wide fllooding of small rivers and streams in Rockingham County. This was the hardest hit area in New Hampshire with damages totaling over 4 million dollars.

8. May 13, 2006Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure developed south of New England and remained nearly stationary from the 12th to the 15th resulting in over 12 inches of rain in some locations in a 72 hour period. Homes and businesses were damaged extensively. Many roads were washed out and impassable. Some bridges were damaged or destroyed. Several evacuations and rescues took place during the flood event. Two dams on the Salmon Falls River were being monitored as it was feared they may fail.

9. Dec 11, 2008Ice Storm, Interior Rockingham$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major winter storm brought a mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain to New Hampshire from the morning of December 11th to the morning of December 12th. The greatest impact in the state was in southern and central New Hampshire where a significant ice storm occurred. Following the ice storm, recovery and restoration efforts were negatively impacted by additional winter weather events that passed through the state. ||The ice storm was caused by an area of low pressure that moved northeastward along a stalled frontal boundary off the East Coast. Near ground level, cold air from eastern Canada funneled southward into the region on northerly winds. Southerly winds at higher levels…

10. Mar 3, 2018Coastal Flood, Coastal Rockingham$1.3 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    In Hampton, New Hampshire, major flooding occurred along the New Hampshire seacoast where up to 3 feet of water covered some roadways in the Back Bay area of Hampton. Route 1A was shut down at Wallis Sands Beach. Ocean Boulevard was also closed in Rye as large rocks, the size of beach balls, were tossed across the road during subsequent high tides. Many of the sea walls along Ocean Boulevard were undermined. The sea wall at North Beach in Hampton was badly compromised.||At Fort Point, water of a half foot to 1 foot deep occurred on Mechanic, Marcy and Ceres Streets in Portsmouth with many properties suffering damage during several tide cycles. The Piscataqua River rose until it…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°FAug 2, 1975

All-time low

−26°FJan 22, 1984

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jun 29, 2021

Coldest day

4°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 2019

Wettest day

8.41 inOct 21, 1996

Snowiest day

18.5 inFeb 9, 2013

Hottest year

2012mean 51.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 45.9°F

Wettest year

200674.64 in

Driest year

198035.82 in

Snowiest season

110.1 in1995-96

Station Greenland (USC00273626), 95 ft elevation, 3.6 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1973 to October 7, 2026; 94.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Rockingham County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00273626.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.