NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hinsdale, MA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
32 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hinsdale, Massachusetts since 1851, 5 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
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 27
- Tornadoes
- 34
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Hinsdale
The strongest storm to pass near Hinsdale was Carol in 1954, a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1938, whose centre came within 4 miles. The record near Hinsdale begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 47 miles away. Of the 32 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 346 Massachusetts cities on this site, 97% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Hinsdale. The highest rating among the 34 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 29, 1995, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on August 28, 1973, killed 4 people. Of the 34, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on August 2, 2020. Of the 346 Massachusetts cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hinsdale. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1973, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Hinsdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 346 Massachusetts cities.
Compare Hinsdale's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hinsdale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 31 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 70 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 73 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 2 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 4 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 6 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hinsdale: 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 Hinsdale
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s3
- 1990s12(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s5(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 17 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| May 29, 1995 | F4 | 19 mi | 11.5 mi | 3 / 24 |
| Sep 13, 1971 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 14 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 15 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1975 | F2 | 5 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 1966 | F2 | 23 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 1966 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1961 | F2 | 24 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 1958 | F2 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 34, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hinsdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Hinsdale since 1973, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 1, 2011. The most recent report is from August 4, 2015. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hinsdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Worthington, MA, 9 miles east of Hinsdale at 1,285 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 12°F. October is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 54.3 inches over 93 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (28.7 of 54.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 32 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (13); a normal September there has highs of 71°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. Snowfall averages 77.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 54.3 inches is more than at 64 of the 65 Massachusetts stations used on this site (98%). Dalton, 3 miles north, has its own station (Pittsfield Municipal Airport, MA): 44.3 inches a year, 10.0 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 12 | 4.0 | 8 | 19.3 |
| Feb | 35 | 13 | 3.6 | 8 | 18.2 |
| Mar | 43 | 21 | 4.3 | 7 | 13.8 |
| Apr | 55 | 32 | 4.3 | 8 | 4.0 |
| May | 67 | 43 | 4.2 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 75 | 52 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 56 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 55 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 47 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 36 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 4.1 | 7 | 4.6 |
| Dec | 36 | 19 | 5.2 | 8 | 16.7 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 54.3 | 93 | 77.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Worthington, MA (1,285 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Hinsdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 235 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hinsdale: 200 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 flash floods, 11 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 24, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 11 of 22. Of the 339 Massachusetts cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 197 have had fewer than Hinsdale.
July 26, 2011: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — 1 killed.
NWS: “A tree was reported down on wires across Route 8 in Hinsdale. An 85-year man was killed after his motorcycle crashed into the fallen tree which was entangled with live electric wires.”
July 7, 2009: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — 1 injured.
October 9, 2005: flood 4 miles from the centre of Hinsdale — $2.5 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Berkshire County, which includes Hinsdale, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1985, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 snowstorms, 6 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 27, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Berkshire County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.8 million a year, the 10th highest of 14 Massachusetts counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $41.4 million (80%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. 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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.