High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 22, 1998

Name: High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 22, 1998
Start: 1998-12-22T06:00
End: 1998-12-22T19:00
Location: Massachusetts

December 22, 1998 · NWS BOX · 24 events in 23 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 24

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.

The passage of a strong cold front brought gusty northwest west to northwest winds and an end to unseasonably mild temperatures. Peak wind gusts reached 45 to 55 mph across the higher elevations as well as in eastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod, but a peak gust of 62 mph was reported at the Blue Hill Observatory in Milton. Some of the higher gusts reported include 56 mph at Sandwich, 50 mph at Winthrop, 48 mph at Worcester, 47 mph at Pocasset, and 46 mph at Falmouth and Plymouth. There were no reports of damage.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 strong wind, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Western Franklin

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Barnstable

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Barnstable forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.684, -70.274 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Dukes

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Dukes forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.389, -70.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Essex

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Essex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.639, -70.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Franklin

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Franklin forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.583, -72.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Hampden

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Hampden forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Hampshire

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Hampshire forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Norfolk

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Plymouth

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.079, -70.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Nantucket

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Nantucket forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.270, -70.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northern Bristol

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Bristol forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.757, -71.088 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Northern Worcester

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Northern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Middlesex

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southeast Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Bristol

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Bristol forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.757, -71.088 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Plymouth

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.987, -70.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Worcester

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Worcester forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Suffolk

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Suffolk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.264, -71.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Essex

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Essex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.639, -70.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Hampden

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Hampden forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.135, -72.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Hampshire

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Hampshire forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.340, -72.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Middlesex

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.486, -71.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Norfolk

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Plymouth

When: December 22, 6:00 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Plymouth forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 41.987, -70.737 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Western Norfolk

When: December 22, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Western Norfolk forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Massachusetts in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, December 1998

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: 5677810, 5677811, 5677812, 5677813, 5677814, 5677815, 5677816, 5677817, 5677818, 5677819, 5677820, 5677821, 5677822, 5677823, 5677824, 5677825, 5677826, 5677827, 5677828, 5677829, 5677830, 5677831, 5677832, 5677833.