NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Northwood, NH
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
41 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Northwood, New Hampshire since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Elsa in 2021. Since 1950, 26 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 36
- Tornadoes
- 26
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Northwood
The strongest storm to pass near Northwood was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 2 hurricane with 104 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Carol in 1954, whose centre came within 9 miles. The record near Northwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Elsa in 2021, a tropical storm 66 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 6 systems. Of the 41 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Northwood has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 39% of the 142 New Hampshire cities on this site. The strongest of the 26 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 9, 1953; its path came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on July 24, 2008, killed 1 person. Of the 26, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on August 22, 2020. Of the 142 New Hampshire cities, 49% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Northwood. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1964, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 142 New Hampshire cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Northwood.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Northwood
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2007 | BarryJun 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 19 | 52 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 25 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | EstherSep 26 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 13 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 31 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 9 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 15 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 21 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 17 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 11 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 12 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormOct 4 | 52 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 9 | 15 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 3 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Northwood: 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 Northwood
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1980s1
- 1970s6
- 1960s7
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1953 | F3 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 24, 2008 | EF2 | 3 mi | 50.46 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jul 6, 1999 | F2 | 7 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1981 | F2 | 14 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 3, 1976 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1972 | F2 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 9, 1963 | F2 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1963 | F2 | 12 mi | 8.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1957 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 21, 1951 | F2 | 23 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 29, 2006 | F1 | 24 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1972 | F1 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 26, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Northwood
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Northwood since 1964, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 19 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 18, 2008. The most recent report is from August 15, 2024. July has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Northwood
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Durham, NH, 14 miles east of Northwood at 75 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 14°F. October is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 45.3 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (24.4 of 45.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 41 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (17); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 151 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.3 inches is more than at 17 of the 39 New Hampshire stations used on this site (44%). Strafford, 3 miles northeast, has its own station (Rochester Skyhaven Airport, NH): 41.2 inches a year, 4.1 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 14 | 2.7 | 6 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 36 | 16 | 3.0 | 6 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 3.5 | 6 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 58 | 34 | 4.1 | 7 | 1.8 |
| May | 68 | 44 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 53 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 57 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 39 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 30 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.3 |
| Dec | 38 | 21 | 4.0 | 7 | 8.9 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 45.3 | 79 | 38.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Durham, NH (75 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 Northwood
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 103 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Northwood: 63 thunderstorm wind reports, 37 floods and 3 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $189,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 28, 2018.
July 28, 2018: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Northwood — 8 injured.
February 25, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Northwood — $100,000 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
Rockingham County, which includes Northwood, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 5 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Flooding, on July 10, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rockingham County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for coastal flooding; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $89.8 million a year, the 2nd highest of 10 New Hampshire counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $54.0 million (60%), 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.
Cities near Northwood
- Strafford, NH3 mi
- Deerfield, NH6 mi
- Epsom, NH8 mi
- Barrington, NH8 mi
- Pittsfield, NH8 mi
- Nottingham, NH9 mi
- Center Barnstead, NH10 mi
- Chichester, NH10 mi
- Pembroke, NH12 mi
- Rochester, NH13 mi
- Candia, NH13 mi
- Raymond, NH13 mi
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