Hail, Middlesex
- When
- August 3, 4:15 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Burlington
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 42.520, -71.200
Hail and Damaging Wind in Massachusetts, August 3, 1997
Strong thunderstorms moved through parts of Middlesex and Essex Counties. Dime size hail was reported in Burlington.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
Strong thunderstorms moved through parts of Middlesex and Essex Counties. Dime size hail was reported in Burlington. Urban street flooding occurred in Waltham and Somerville. Two people had to be rescued from their car by boat after water filled a tunnel in Somerville. Half-inch hail fell in Everett, also in southeast Middlesex County. Trees were downed in Newburyport in Essex County. Lightning struck several structures in Chelsea and Revere in Suffolk County, but damage was minimal.
The radar
The Boston radar (KBOX), 63 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:17 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail, 1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Middlesex
- When
- August 3, 4:44 PM EST to 5:02 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Waltham
- Coordinates
- 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Thunderstorm Wind, Essex
- When
- August 3, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Essex County, Newburyport
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 42.820, -70.870
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Arizona, August 3 to 31, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Wisconsin, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Minnesota, August 3, 1997
- Hail in Iowa, August 3, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Vermont, August 3, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, August 3, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Maine, August 3, 1997
More
Every storm in Massachusetts in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5621390, 5621391, 5621392.