Sullivan County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 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. Oct 8, 2005Flood, Sullivan$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The interaction between a cold frontal boundary and the remnants of Tropical Storm Tammy resulted in tremendous amount of rainfall throughout most of central and southern New Hampshire. Rainfall ranged from just under 2 inches in far northern New Hampshire to 9 inches at Gilford in Belknap County. An unofficial report was received of 12.75 inches near Gunstock Ski area. There was a tremendous amount of damage to roads and bridges, and to the infrastructure in general due to flooding of small rivers and streams. Homes and businesses were damaged. Tragically, two young people lost their lives in the town of Unity in Sullivan County when they attempted to drive over a bridge that had…

2. Jan 7, 1998Ice Storm, Sullivan$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe ICE STORM hit sections of New Hampshire from January 7 through January 9. The hardest hit areas in northern and central New Hampshire were generally between about 1000 and 2000 ft above sea level. While many cities and towns at lower elevations received only rain, towns at higher elevations, such as New London, where the temperatures were slightly cooler had freezing rain. Ice accreted several inches thick on trees, power lines, and other exposed surfaces causing many people in those areas to lose electrical service. Statewide, the storm knocked out power to about 55,000 customers, an estimated 125,000 people. During the time without power, residents and those involved…

3. Jul 2, 2013Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from slow moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding in Claremont.

4. Jul 29, 2021Flash Flood$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Acworth was the hardest hit community during the flash flooding on July 29th. Localized rainfall amounts on July 29th approached or exceeded 4.5 inches in less than six hours. Reports from FEMA and State Officials list 75% of the town's 29 roads were damaged. Multiple bridges were damaged and destroyed. Reports on damages ranged from approximately 2 to 7 million dollars. Most damage was on Crane Brook Road and Charlestown Road at Luther Hill Road. Local officials claim damage was the worst since the 2005 floods.

5. Oct 21, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A coastal storm which was fed tropical moisture by the circulation around Hurricane Lily in the Atlantic produced about 5 inches of rain throughout the County during a 30-hour period, causing the Cold River Dam in Lempster to fail which resulted in a flash flood..

6. Apr 16, 2007Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Overview: An area of low pressure intensified rapidly as it moved slowly from the southeastern United States on the morning of Sunday, April 15th to near New York City by the morning of Monday, April 16th. The intense low over New York City in combination with high pressure over eastern Canada produced a very intense pressure gradient across the area which caused strong east to northeast winds to develop across the region. Over land, the strong winds downed numerous trees. The downed trees caused widespread power outages, especially near the coast, and numerous road closures. Over the marine areas, the strong winds caused a storm surge and large ocean waves of up to 30 feet to…

7. Aug 28, 2011Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from Tropical Storm Irene caused flooding on small rivers and streams throughout Sullivan County.

8. Dec 11, 2008Ice Storm, Sullivan$786,000
   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…

9. Jul 2, 2013Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain from slow moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding in Washington.

10. Jul 2, 2013Flash Flood$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Heavy rain from slow moving thunderstorms produced flash flooding in Cornish.

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

97°FJul 15, 1995

All-time low

−40°FJan 20, 1994

Warmest night

72°FJul 11, 2024

Coldest day

−10°FJan 13, 1981

Wettest day

6.00 inSep 17, 1999

Snowiest day

30.0 inApr 13, 1933

Hottest year

2012mean 48.1°F

Coldest year

1992mean 41.4°F

Wettest year

200556.04 in

Driest year

194125.89 in

Snowiest season

125.1 in1957-58

Station Newport (USC00275868), 770 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1970 to October 27, 2026; 97.4% 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 USC00275868.
• 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.