NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Milton, 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
50 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Milton, Massachusetts since 1851, 12 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Henri in 2021. Since 1950, 46 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 12
- Tropical storms
- 38
- Tornadoes
- 46
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
96 deaths in all
What the records show for Milton
The strongest storm to pass near Milton was Edna in 1954, a Category 2 hurricane with 107 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1869, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Milton begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Henri in 2021, a tropical storm 70 miles away. Of the 50 systems, 6 have come since 2000. Milton has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 71% of the 346 Massachusetts cities on this site. The strongest of the 46 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 9, 1953; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 94 people. Of the 46, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on September 13, 2023. Of the 346 Massachusetts cities, 50% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Milton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1956, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Milton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 346 Massachusetts cities.
Compare Milton's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Milton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | HenriAug 22 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2007 | BarryJun 4 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2004 | HermineAug 31 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | JosephineOct 9 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 19 | 14 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 64 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1966 | AlmaJun 14 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1961 | EstherSep 26 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 25 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1959 | CindyJul 11 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1954 | EdnaSep 11 | 55 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 30 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 15 | 14 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 20 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 21 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 30 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 39 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 17 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 10 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 25 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 26 | 74 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 12 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 23 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 19 | 53 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 5 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 27 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormOct 4 | 39 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 8 | 13 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 3 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 24 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormOct 19 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Milton: 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 Milton
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s5
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1980s7
- 1970s7
- 1960s6
- 1950s11(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1953 | F4 | 23 mi | 34.9 mi | 94 / 1228 |
| Jun 9, 1953 | F3 | 15 mi | 28 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Jul 28, 2014 | EF2 | 10 mi | 1.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Nov 18, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1958 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1958 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 21, 1956 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1972 | F1 | 8 mi | 4.9 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Aug 18, 2023 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 2023 | EF1 | 20 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2023 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 23, 2018 | EF1 | 20 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 46, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Milton
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Milton since 1956, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 4, 2015. The most recent report is from August 15, 2024. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Milton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Blue Hill Coop, MA, 3 miles southwest of Milton at 625 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 18°F. March and October are the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 53.9 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (25.9 of 53.9 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 50 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (19); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. Snowfall averages 69.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 53.9 inches is more than at 63 of the 65 Massachusetts stations used on this site (97%). Mattapan, 2 miles northwest, has its own station (Jamaica Plain, MA): 49.4 inches a year, 4.5 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 82°F.
Sea level at the Boston tide gauge, 7 miles from Milton, has risen 1.17 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1921 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 11.7 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 68 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 18 | 4.5 | 8 | 18.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 20 | 4.0 | 7 | 18.2 |
| Mar | 44 | 27 | 5.5 | 8 | 15.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 38 | 4.8 | 8 | 2.8 |
| May | 67 | 48 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 58 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 64 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 63 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 56 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 44 | 5.5 | 7 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 4.3 | 7 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 40 | 25 | 5.4 | 9 | 12.6 |
| Year | 58 | 41 | 53.9 | 87 | 69.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Blue Hill Coop, MA (625 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 Milton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 469 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Milton: 286 thunderstorm wind reports, 96 floods, 55 flash floods and 32 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 30, and the NWS estimated $62.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 6, 1999. July has had the most flash floods, 34 of 55. Of the 339 Massachusetts cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 311 have had fewer than Milton.
August 5, 2010: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Milton — 1 killed.
July 20, 2008: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Milton — 10 injured.
June 27, 2008: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Milton — 4 injured, $5.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Milton's ZIP code 02186 have filed 103 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $724,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1978: 25 claims (24% of all) and $207,000, then March 2010 Nor'easter in 2010 with 20 and Not a named storm in 1982 with 17. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 21. 63% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 229 Massachusetts cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 166 have fewer than Milton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1978 | 25 | $207,000 |
| March 2010 Nor'easter2010 | 20 | $316,000 |
| Not a named storm1982 | 17 | $27,000 |
Norfolk County, which includes Milton, has been named in 38 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 23 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 snowstorms, 8 hurricanes, 7 floods, 7 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm, on April 18, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Norfolk County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding, coastal flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $146.9 million a year, the 4th highest of 14 Massachusetts counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $103.1 million (70%), 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.