Strong Wind and Heavy Rain in Massachusetts, August 21, 1997

Name: Strong Wind and Heavy Rain in Massachusetts, August 21, 1997
Start: 1997-08-21T03:00
End: 1997-08-21T16:00
Location: Massachusetts

August 21, 1997 · NWS BOX · 14 events in 13 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $990
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.

A "southeaster" brought strong east to southeast winds to coastal eastern Massachusetts with wind gusts to 40 to 55 mph. Tree limbs and a few trees were reported blown down, especially over Cape Cod and the Islands and across south coastal towns in Plymouth and Bristol County. In New Bedford, a tree fell on a house and car. In Dartmouth, a staging was toppled at the University of Massachusetts. At least five boats washed ashore and countless others lost rudders at Mattapoisett Harbor. The town wharf was under about six inches of water at high tide. The harbormaster rated this storm as one of the top five bad storms during recent years. Minor coastal flooding was reported at many points along south facing coastlines of southeastern Massachusetts, with tides one to two feet above normal. The strong winds in the Boston area reached sustained speeds of 30 mph at Deer Island in Boston Harbor. A peak gust to 51 mph was recorded from the east-southeast at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton at 11:08 AM. Heavy rain accompanied the winds. Very heavy rain fell on Martha's Vineyard where the storm total was 3.8 inches. This was the same storm system that hit Atlantic City, NJ with a deluge of around 14 inches of rainfall.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 strong wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Dukes

When: August 21, 3:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where: Dukes County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.389, -70.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Essex

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Essex forecast zone
Coordinates: 42.639, -70.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Barnstable

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Barnstable forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.684, -70.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Dukes

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Dukes forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.389, -70.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Norfolk

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Norfolk forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Plymouth / Also Part of Norfolk

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Plymouth / Also Part of Norfolk forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 42.079, -70.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Nantucket

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Nantucket forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.270, -70.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northern Bristol

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Bristol forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.757, -71.088 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Middlesex

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Middlesex forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Bristol

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Bristol forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.757, -71.088 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Plymouth

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Plymouth forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 41.987, -70.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Suffolk / Also Part of Norfolk

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Suffolk / Also Part of Norfolk forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 42.264, -71.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Norfolk

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Western Norfolk forecast zone
Property damage: $90
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Plymouth

When: August 21, 7:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST
Where: Western Plymouth forecast zone
Coordinates: 41.987, -70.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, August 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5621422, 5621409, 5621410, 5621411, 5621412, 5621413, 5621414, 5621415, 5621416, 5621417, 5621418, 5621419, 5621420, 5621421.