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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dalton, MA

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

30 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dalton, Massachusetts since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 34 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
4

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
26

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
34

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

7 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dalton

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Dalton, Massachusetts, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020IsaiasAug 445 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
2011IreneAug 28overheadTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1999FloydSep 1757 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1362 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2734 miCategory 1 (84 mph)Category 4
1979DavidSep 662 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 5
1976BelleAug 1031 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 3
1971DoriaAug 2816 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1119 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1563 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1273 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3048 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1954CarolAug 3175 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 222 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2943 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 215 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 952 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 372 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 305 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 556 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 114 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1070 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 291 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 244 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2261 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2418 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 2
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3050 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3026 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1938 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2842 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dalton: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dalton

By decade

  • 2020s1
  • 2010s3
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s12(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s2
  • 1970s5(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s5
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Dalton, Massachusetts
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 28, 1973F416 mi9.8 mi4 / 36
May 29, 1995F421 mi11.5 mi3 / 24
Sep 13, 1971F325 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
May 31, 1998F222 mi8 mi0 / 0
Jul 3, 1997F216 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 3, 1997F217 mi3.7 mi0 / 0
Jul 3, 1997F218 mi4.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 13, 1975F23 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Mar 1, 1966F212 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Feb 25, 2017EF119 mi4.64 mi0 / 1
Feb 25, 2017EF117 mi2.9 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 2014EF14 mi0.25 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 34, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Dalton while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Massachusetts