NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sheffield, 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 Sheffield, Massachusetts since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 38 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 28
- Tornadoes
- 38
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Sheffield
The strongest storm to pass near Sheffield was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 2 hurricane with 97 mph winds when its centre passed 20 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Sheffield begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 44 miles away. Of the 32 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 346 Massachusetts cities on this site, 97% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Sheffield. The highest rating among the 38 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 29, 1995, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on August 28, 1973, killed 4 people. Of the 38, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2022. Of the 346 Massachusetts cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sheffield. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1955, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 346 Massachusetts cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sheffield.
Compare Sheffield's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sheffield
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 32 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 71 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 20 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | overhead | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 27 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sheffield: 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 Sheffield
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s3
- 2000s5
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s2
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 12 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| May 29, 1995 | F4 | 6 mi | 11.5 mi | 3 / 24 |
| Jun 23, 2001 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 11 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 9 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1995 | F2 | 10 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 10, 1989 | F2 | 19 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 30, 1976 | F2 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 1966 | F2 | 6 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1959 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1955 | F2 | in town | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 38, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sheffield
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of Sheffield since 1955, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on August 31, 1973. The most recent report is from September 6, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 14 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sheffield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Copake, NY, 10 miles west of Sheffield at 550 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 34°F and 14°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 43.5 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 (23.5 of 43.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 32 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 4.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. Snowfall averages 49.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 43.5 inches is more than at 6 of the 65 Massachusetts stations used on this site (9%). Canaan, CT, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Norfolk 2 SW, CT): 53.0 inches a year, 9.5 more than here, and a July average high of 78°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 34 | 14 | 3.1 | 7 | 15.5 |
| Feb | 37 | 15 | 2.3 | 5 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 45 | 23 | 3.3 | 7 | 10.0 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.8 |
| May | 70 | 45 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 55 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 40 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 30 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 39 | 21 | 3.4 | 6 | 10.5 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 43.5 | 79 | 49.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Copake, NY (550 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 Sheffield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 211 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sheffield: 181 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 13 floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $509,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on June 7, 1999. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 15. Of the 339 Massachusetts cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 130 have had fewer than Sheffield.
October 7, 2020: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sheffield — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 22, 2008: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Sheffield — 1 injured, $8,000 damage.
September 6, 2025: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sheffield — 1 injured.
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 Sheffield, 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.