Plymouth County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 14, 2010Flood$16.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several small streams went into flood, including the Taunton River at Bridgewater, the Jones River at Kingston, and the Indian Head River at Hanover. Several streets were closed throughout East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, and Whitman. In addition, collections at the Holmes Public Library in Halifax were damaged by floodwaters. Residents of John Dunn Drive in Rockland were evacuated from their homes. Forty homes in Brockton were evacuated after power and gas were shut off to the houses. Several roads were closed in Brockton due to flooding.

2. Feb 9, 2013Coastal Flood, Eastern Plymouth$9.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Plymouth, Warren Avenue was flooded near the entrance to the beach. A road near the north end of White Horse Beach was washed over with two feet of sand. A house on Taylor Avenue was completely destroyed with wreckage strewn for half a mile. Foundations and stairs of six to eight buildings were damaged. Significant beach erosion occurred with damage to dunes, sand fencing, and stairs. The Pilgrim Sands Motel was flooded with two feet of water in their basement. The Breakwater parking lot was undermined and eroded. In Scituate, numerous streets were flooded and impassable, with up to four feet of water. Moderate to major coastal flooding occurred with depths of water reaching up…

3. Mar 29, 2010Flood$8.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to eight inches of rain fell across Plymouth County resulting in several small streams rising above flood stage, including the Taunton River at Bridgewater which set a record, the Indian Head River at Hanover, and the Jones River at Kingston.||Several ponds in Lakeville rose out of their banks. At least 35 families were evacuated because of the pond flooding. Schools in Lakeville closed early Tuesday, March 30 and closed for the day Wednesday, March 31 because of the flooding. Two buildings in the Ashley Place condominium complex in Middleborough were evacuated due to flooding. A day care center on Route 28 was also evacuated. A handful of people were evacuated from a…

4. May 21, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$4.0 million
5. Apr 1, 1997Heavy Snow, Western Plymouth$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system which formed off the New Jersey coast during the early morning hours of March 31st intensified rapidly as it moved to a position 60 miles south of Newport, Rhode Island. This system retreated to the south during the early morning hours of April 1st, pulling in cold air from the north. The center then moved slowly eastward. Heavy snow and strong winds produced blizzard or near-blizzard conditions across most of Massachusetts, with the exception of the Islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Northeast winds gusting to 30 to 50 mph were reported. Snowfall totals of 20 to 30 inches were common from a Plymouth to Taunton line northwestward to the Berkshires.…

6. Dec 27, 2010Coastal Flood, Eastern Plymouth$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to major coastal flooding impacted eastern Plymouth County during the early morning high tide. The most severe flooding affected Scituate, where over one hundred people were evacuated. Most coastal roads were closed due to flooding and overwash debris including Otis and Scituate Avenues, Inner Harbor Road, and the Town Way Extension in the Peggotty Beach section. Significant damage occurred to coastal structures such as homes and stairways. The coastal flooding inundated one house to the point that seawater was flooding the electrical box. This resulted in a house fire. Because of the coastal flooding, firefighters had trouble reaching the house to put the fire out and…

7. Oct 26, 2021High Wind, Eastern Plymouth$1.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Winds gusted to between 70 and nearly 90 mph in eastern Plymouth County! The peak wind report was 88 mph in Duxbury (Weatherflow) at 840 AM EDT (740 AM EST) on the 27th. Other peak wind gusts included 83 mph in Scituate at 827 AM EDT (Weatherflow); 78 mph at the Hull Yacht Club (Weatherflow) at 528 AM EDT; 70 mph in Plymouth (trained spotter) at 535 AM EDT; 60 mph in Marshfield (AWOS) at 635 AM EDT. There was widespread damage to trees and power lines. Schools were closed for several days. According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, storm damage totals amounted to $2,658,115 in Plymouth County, the vast majority of which was from debris removal and emergency…

8. Aug 28, 2011Tropical Storm, Western Plymouth$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees, branches, and wires were downed on South, Union, Conant, and Hale Streets in Bridgewater. One of these trees was downed onto a house. A tree and wires were downed on Forest Park Drive in Lakeville. Numerous trees were downed in Middleboro. A large tree was downed at the intersection of Routes 58 and 123 in Abington.

9. Jan 7, 1996Heavy Snow, Eastern Plymouth$1.6 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…

10. Jan 7, 1996Heavy Snow, Western Plymouth$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…

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

105°FJun 24, 2025

All-time low

−19°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

80°F3 times, most recently Jul 17, 2025

Coldest day

−4°FDec 29, 1933

Wettest day

7.88 inAug 19, 1955

Snowiest day

25.0 inJan 29, 2022

Hottest year

2023mean 56.0°F

Coldest year

1904mean 47.4°F

Wettest year

199867.86 in

Driest year

196523.99 in

Snowiest season

105.8 in1995-96

Station Brockton (USC00190860), 75 ft elevation, 8.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 23, 2026; 97.2% 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 USC00190860.
• 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.
• 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.