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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 30, 2010Flood$5.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Seven to eight inches of rain fell in Bristol County, resulting in many basements and roads flooding in Bristol and Warren. One house near Silver Creek was flooded and evacuated. The Bristol County Medical Center was forced to shut down for two days because of flooding in the electrical rooms.||The Bristol Wastewater Pollution Control Department was overwhelmed with stormwater, both in the processing of wastewater and in the plant itself. Three of the tanks engines were overwhelmed with water and broke down and roughly one million gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into the ground to be flushed into the bay.

2. Oct 29, 2012Coastal Flood, Bristol$220,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Coastal flooding during Monday morning's high tide resulted in the collapse of a 30 foot section of seawall. This resulted in the erosion and undermining of Poppasquash Road in Bristol.

3. Aug 22, 2021Tropical Storm, Bristol$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   According to the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, approximately 18-20 homes were damaged due to falling trees.

4. Apr 1, 1997Heavy Snow, Bristol$100,000
   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 and near-blizzard conditions across most of Rhode Island during the early morning hours on April 1st. Snowfall accumulations set all-time records for April across most of the state, with amounts ranging from around 4 inches along the south coast to nearly 30 inches along the Massachusetts border…

5. Jun 22, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of thunderstorms, some severe, moved southeastward across Rhode Island with large hail, frequent cloud to ground lightning, and wind gusts measured up to 80 mph. A microburst moved through part of East Providence (the Riverside section and Bullocks Neck) and West Barrington (the Bullocks Cove area). A boat was lifted off its cradle on land and landed on top of a car and a crane was turned about 30 degrees in the Bullocks Cove area. Two boats were swamped in the Cove and there was considerable tree damage. A lightning bolt started a fire which destroyed an upstairs apartment in West Barrington. As a result of a National Weather Service survey of the area, winds in the…

6. Jun 22, 1997Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of thunderstorms, some severe, moved southeastward across Rhode Island with large hail, frequent cloud to ground lightning, and wind gusts measured up to 80 mph. A microburst moved through part of East Providence (the Riverside section and Bullocks Neck) and West Barrington (the Bullocks Cove area). A boat was lifted off its cradle on land and landed on top of a car and a crane was turned about 30 degrees in the Bullocks Cove area. Two boats were swamped in the Cove and there was considerable tree damage. A lightning bolt started a fire which destroyed an upstairs apartment in West Barrington. As a result of a National Weather Service survey of the area, winds in the…

7. Mar 30, 2014Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of rain fell across Bristol County. This resulted in flash flooding across most of the county. In Bristol, Franklin, Chestnut, and James Streets were flooded. Route 114 near the Mount Hope Bridge and the Lobster Pot was closed due to flooding. Ward Street was flooded and closed. One house was evacuated at the end of the street. Several basements also were flooded. In Warren, Main Street was flooded with 4 inches of water and Market Street was flooded with 6-8 inches of water. Homestead Avenue was flooded with three feet of water. Long Wharf Drive and Columbus Street were flooded with one foot of water.

8. Nov 13, 2003High Wind, Bristol$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure moving through the St. Lawrence Valley brought high winds to much of southern New England. In Rhode Island, peak wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph brought down trees and power lines.

9. Sep 3, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees were downed along Market Street by thunderstorm winds determined to be associated with a microburst.

10. Jul 23, 2008Tornado$45,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A National Weather Service Damage Survey Team concluded that an EF-1 Tornado occurred in a portion of Eastern Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts. A waterspout occurred just off of Rumstick Point in Barrington, Rhode Island. This waterspout then moved onto land over the southern portion of Warren near the Warren/Bristol line at Hanley Farm Road. It then continued eastward across the Kickemuit River in the Touisset Highlands section of Warren. It then crossed the Cole River and continued into southeastern Massachusetts.||Most of the damage had a rating of EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with wind speeds of 65 to 75 mph. However, there was one small section of Warren in the…

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, 7.7 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.
• 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.