Bristol County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Bristol County: 0.
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.

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

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.

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 29, 2010Flood$23.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four to eight inches of rain fell across Bristol County resulting in several small streams rising above flood stage, including the Mill River in Taunton, the Canoe River at Norton, the Wading River at Norton, and the Segregansett River at Dighton, all of which set records.||Basements flooded in Taunton, North Attleboro, Attleboro, Norton, Mansfield, and Acushnet. Numerous streets were closed due to flooding in Taunton, Fall River, Dartmouth, Norton, Dighton, Raynham, Somerset, North Attleboro, Attleboro, Freetown, Westport, Berkley, Mansfield, Rehoboth, and Swansea, including Route 6 in Westport, Interstate 195 at Exit 3 in Swansea, Route 24 in Dartmouth, and Route 140 in Freetown…

2. Mar 14, 2010Flood$11.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several small streams rose above flood stage in Bristol County, including the Wading River at Norton, the Mill River at Taunton, and the Segregansett River at Dighton.||Collections at the Attleboro Arts Museum were damaged by flood waters. River Bank Road in Attleboro and Franklin Avenue in North Attleboro were flooded by the Ten Mile River. Several other roads in Attleboro and Norton were flooded. Several basements in North Attleboro were flooded. Portions of Route 44 and Dean Streets on the Taunton/Raynham line were closed for several days after becoming flooded with several feet of water. Several other streets in Taunton were closed due to flooding. The Wilson Road causeway in…

3. Aug 28, 2011Tropical Storm, Northern Bristol$2.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees were downed across Taunton, including on Harrison Avenue, Ingell, Staples, Liberty and Pleasant Streets. One of these trees crushed a car. Many trees and wires downed across Attleboro, including on Dewey and Jessie Avenues, Thacher, Pearl, South Main, County, and Jackson Streets. One of these trees was downed onto a house. Wires and poles were down on North Main Street in Attleboro. Multiple trees were downed in North Attleboro, including trees that were downed onto cars on High Street, James Street, and Kelley Boulevard. Several trees were downed on Plain and Ware Streets in Mansfield. Trees on Broadway and Locust Street in Raynham were downed. Trees and wires on Berkley…

4. Aug 28, 2011Tropical Storm, Southern Bristol$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and branches were downed throughout southern Bristol County, including in Dartmouth (Smith Neck and Slocum Roads and Colonial Way), Fall River (Concord and South Main Streets), Acushnet (Chershire Street and Nye Avenue), and Freetown (Chace Road). Some of these trees fell onto houses. The aluminum siding was blown off a building onto the Fairhaven-New Bedford Bridge. A telephone pole was downed on Schooner Court in New Bedford. The Olympia Towers apartment building in New Bedford suffered some structural damage. A tree was downed in Swansea, falling through a house. Shingles were blown off a roof on Mandell Street in New Bedford.||The Automated Surface Observing…

5. Jan 7, 1996Heavy Snow, Northern Bristol$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense East Coast low pressure system moved northeast from eastern Georgia passing along the coast of the Carolinas and then close to 40 degrees North and 70 degrees West. This storm was one of the most significant winter storms to hit southern New England in the past 20 years and was named "The Blizzard of '96" as it dumped record snowfalls from the mid-Atlantic states to southern New England. Technically, this storm only reached a true blizzard by National Weather Service criteria for a few hours in a small section of eastern Massachusetts around South Weymouth during the early morning hours on January 8th. Very heavy snowfall, which was measured in feet, was the main effect…

6. Sep 5, 2012Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four to six inches of rain fell across Fall River, three of which fell in 45 minutes. Numerous roads and intersections were flooded, stranding many cars. There were 6 high water rescues, that occurred on Davol and Pearce Streets. Water was up to car windshields on Pearce Street. Four feet of water flooded the intersection of Lindsey and Ballard Streets. Forty to sixty cars became stuck in high water on Eastern Avenue near the rotary with President Avenue. Airport Road was closed due to flooding. A daycare center was evacuated because water began entering the building. More than 50 houses experienced flooding up to or on the first floor. The basement of Kimwell Nursing Home on New…

7. Jan 7, 1996Heavy Snow, Southern Bristol$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense East Coast low pressure system moved northeast from eastern Georgia passing along the coast of the Carolinas and then close to 40 degrees North and 70 degrees West. This storm was one of the most significant winter storms to hit southern New England in the past 20 years and was named "The Blizzard of '96" as it dumped record snowfalls from the mid-Atlantic states to southern New England. Technically, this storm only reached a true blizzard by National Weather Service criteria for a few hours in a small section of eastern Massachusetts around South Weymouth during the early morning hours on January 8th. Very heavy snowfall, which was measured in feet, was the main effect…

8. Oct 26, 2021High Wind, Southern Bristol$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds generally gusted to 55 to 75 mph in southern Bristol County. In Westport at Horseneck Beach at 5 AM EDT (4 AM EST), a Weatherflow mesonet station recorded a wind gust to 75 mph. In Fairhaven at 543 AM EDT (443 AM EST) on the 27th, the West Island Weatherflow mesonet station recorded a wind gust to 66 mph. There was widespread wind damage with trees and power lines downed. According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, the damage estimates totaled $1,880,039 for all of Bristol County, the majority of which was from utility damages and debris cleanup. Some of the specific reports received by NWS-Norton follow. In Fairhaven at 1025 PM EDT (925 PM EST) on the 26th,…

9. Oct 26, 2021High Wind, Northern Bristol$880,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds in northern Bristol County were gusting as high as 55 to 60 mph. At 641 AM EDT (541 AM EST) on the 27th, a CWOP station in Taunton recorded a wind gust to 59 mph. In Mansfield at 745 AM EDT, an Urbanet station recorded a high sustained wind of 46 mph. Numerous trees and wires were downed. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported that damage figures for all of Bristol County amounted to $1,880,039, the majority of which was for damage to utilities and for debris cleanup. Some specific reports received by NWS-Norton follow. In Easton at 839 PM EDT (739 PM EST) on the 26th, a tree and power lines were downed on Alan Road. In Norton at 1 AM EDT on the 27th, a tree…

10. Jun 14, 1998Flash Flood$570,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    On June 12th through the 14th, a very slow moving complex storm system moved through southeast New England. The combination of its slow movement and the presence of tropical moisture across the region produced rainfall of 6 to 12 inches over much of eastern Massachusetts, which led to widespread urban, small stream, and river flooding. During the period from June 15th through the 20th, the slow moving upper level system continued to set off afternoon thunderstorms which moved very slowly in the weak upper level wind flow. Several flash flood events occurred. The flooding resulted in a Presidential Disaster Declaration in the following Massachusetts counties: Essex, Middlesex,…

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

−13°FJan 23, 1976

Warmest night

80°FJul 3, 2026

Coldest day

7°F3 times, most recently Jan 16, 1994

Wettest day

6.31 inAug 4, 1979

Snowiest day

35.5 inFeb 23, 2026

Hottest year

2021mean 54.2°F

Coldest year

1978mean 48.7°F

Wettest year

198367.52 in

Driest year

196525.44 in

Snowiest season

106.5 in1995-96

Station Providence (USW00014765), 51 ft elevation, 17.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00014765.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.