NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Peterborough, 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 Peterborough, New Hampshire since 1851, 6 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Irene in 2011. Since 1950, 34 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 6
- Tropical storms
- 35
- Tornadoes
- 34
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Peterborough
The strongest storm to pass near Peterborough was Carol in 1954, a Category 2 hurricane with 96 mph winds when its centre passed 24 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gloria in 1985, whose centre came within 4 miles. The record near Peterborough begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Irene in 2011, a tropical storm 43 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 6 systems. Of the 41 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Peterborough has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 72% of the 142 New Hampshire cities on this site. The highest rating among the 34 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 22, 1981, came within 23 miles. Of the 34, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on June 23, 2024. Peterborough has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 142 New Hampshire cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1962, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 142 New Hampshire cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Peterborough.
Compare Peterborough's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Peterborough
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2007 | BarryJun 5 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1991 | BobAug 19 | 74 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 4 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 24 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 2 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 56 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormOct 1 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormJul 21 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1908 | Unnamed 1908 stormMay 31 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 17 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 10 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 12 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 8 | 43 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 3 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 32 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormOct 19 | 64 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 Peterborough: 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 Peterborough
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s1
- 1990s4
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s14(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 1981 | F3 | 23 mi | 7.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 20, 1963 | F3 | 7 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1998 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1972 | F2 | 15 mi | 9.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 6, 1969 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1968 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 13, 1963 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 1963 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 2, 1961 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | EF1 | 4 mi | 3.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2023 | EF1 | 6 mi | 12.65 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 Peterborough
The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Peterborough since 1962, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 30, 2021. The most recent report is from August 26, 2024. July has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Peterborough
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jaffrey Municipal Airport, NH, 6 miles southwest of Peterborough at 1,040 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 13°F. October is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (25.0 of 46.4 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 71°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 159 nights a year. That 46.4 inches is more than at 22 of the 39 New Hampshire stations used on this site (56%). Wilton, 9 miles southeast, has its own station (Greenville 1 NNE, NH): 49.6 inches a year, 3.2 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 13 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 34 | 14 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Mar | 42 | 23 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Apr | 55 | 33 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 67 | 44 | 3.6 | 8 |
| Jun | 75 | 54 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jul | 81 | 59 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Aug | 79 | 57 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 4.3 | 6 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Nov | 47 | 30 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 36 | 20 | 4.1 | 8 |
| Year | 56 | 36 | 46.4 | 85 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jaffrey Municipal Airport, NH (1,040 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 Peterborough
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 128 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Peterborough: 100 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods, 9 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 106 mph, on June 6, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 9 of 16. Of the 141 New Hampshire cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 113 have had fewer than Peterborough.
August 23, 2020: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Peterborough — 6 injured.
July 16, 2010: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Peterborough — 2 injured.
April 16, 2007: flood 2 miles from the centre of Peterborough — $1.5 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding closed part of Route 202 in Peterborough, Route 122 and South Merrimack Road in Hollis, and widespread urban flooding in Nashua and Manchester. A mudslide closed a portion of Route 101 in Wilton.”
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 Peterborough's ZIP code 03458 have filed 49 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $638,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 12% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 60 New Hampshire cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 43 have fewer than Peterborough.
Hillsborough County, which includes Peterborough, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 severe storms, 6 snowstorms, 5 floods, 4 hurricanes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hillsborough County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $120.3 million a year, the highest of 10 New Hampshire counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $76.4 million (63%), 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.