Strong Wind in Massachusetts, November 26, 1998

Name: Strong Wind in Massachusetts, November 26, 1998
Start: 1998-11-26T12:00
End: 1998-11-26T19:00
Location: Massachusetts

November 26, 1998 · NWS BOX · 21 events in 21 counties and zones

An intensifying low pressure system moved northeast across southern New England on Thanksgiving Day. Most of central and eastern Massachusetts was affected by strong winds.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 21

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.

An intensifying low pressure system moved northeast across southern New England on Thanksgiving Day. Most of central and eastern Massachusetts was affected by strong winds. Gusty south to southeast winds occurred in advance of the approaching system, and strong west to northwest winds followed in its wake. One person was killed in Worcester when a tree was blown down onto a moving car. The peak gust reported during this event was 53 MPH at Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard. Other strong wind gusts included 48 MPH at Blue Hills Observatory in Milton, 46 MPH at Worcester and Provincetown, 45 MPH at Martha's Vineyard Airport, 44 MPH at Hyannis and Nantucket, and 43 MPH at Winthrop.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

21 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Northern Worcester

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Western Middlesex

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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 Essex

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Eastern Essex

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Western Hampshire

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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 Hampden

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Eastern Hampshire

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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 Hampden

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Southern Worcester

When: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Southern Worcester forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.351, -71.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Norfolk

When: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Western Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.171, -71.184 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southeast Middlesex

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Suffolk / Also Part of Norfolk

When: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Suffolk / Also Part of Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.264, -71.125 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Norfolk

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Northern Bristol

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Western Plymouth

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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)

Strong Wind, Eastern Plymouth / Also Part of Norfolk

When: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Plymouth / Also Part of Norfolk forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 42.079, -70.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Southern Bristol

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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: November 26, 12:00 PM 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, Barnstable

When: November 26, 12:00 PM 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: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Dukes forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.389, -70.699 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Nantucket

When: November 26, 12:00 PM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where: Nantucket forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 41.270, -70.022 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Strong Wind, Southern Worcester	1998-11-26	43	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Massachusetts, November 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: 5674731, 5674732, 5674733, 5674734, 5674735, 5674736, 5674737, 5674738, 5674739, 5674740, 5674741, 5674742, 5674743, 5674744, 5674745, 5674746, 5674747, 5674748, 5674749, 5674750, 5674751.