Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in New Hampshire

99 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 1.3 a year, 44th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 1 people and injured 30. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in New Hampshire

  1. EF2, Rockingham, Strafford, Merrimack and Belknap counties, New HampshireJuly 24, 20081 killed, 2 injured

The strongest

  1. F3, Cheshire and Hillsborough counties, New HampshireMay 20, 1963F3, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  2. F3, Grafton County, New HampshireAugust 25, 1969F3, 5.7 mi (9 km)
  3. F3, Rockingham County, New HampshireJune 9, 1953F3, 1.5 mi (2 km)
  4. F3, Hillsborough County, New HampshireAugust 20, 1968F3, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  5. EF2, Rockingham, Strafford, Merrimack and Belknap counties, New HampshireJuly 24, 2008EF2, 50.5 mi (81 km)
  6. F2, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, New HampshireJune 9, 1963F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  7. F2, Grafton County, New HampshireAugust 11, 1966F2, 9.0 mi (14 km)
  8. F2, Strafford County, New HampshireJune 22, 1981F2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  9. F2, Strafford and York counties, New Hampshire and MaineMay 14, 1963F2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  10. F2, Belknap, Strafford and Merrimack counties, New HampshireJuly 6, 1999F2, 7.5 mi (12 km)
  11. F2, Rockingham County, New HampshireJuly 2, 1961F2, 5.1 mi (8 km)
  12. F2, Rockingham County, New HampshireAugust 21, 1951F2, 4.9 mi (8 km)

The longest paths

  1. EF2, Rockingham, Strafford, Merrimack and Belknap counties, New HampshireJuly 24, 200850.5 mi (81 km)
  2. EF1, Cheshire, Sullivan and Merrimack counties, New HampshireMay 4, 201837.5 mi (60 km)
  3. F0, Sullivan County, New HampshireOctober 24, 195514.6 mi (23 km)
  4. F3, Cheshire and Hillsborough counties, New HampshireMay 20, 196314.0 mi (23 km)
  5. EF1, Cheshire County, New HampshireJuly 27, 202312.7 mi (20 km)
  6. F1, Cheshire and Hillsborough counties, New HampshireJune 16, 198612.0 mi (19 km)
  7. F1, Hillsborough County, New HampshireMay 9, 196310.1 mi (16 km)
  8. F2, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties, New HampshireJune 9, 196310.0 mi (16 km)
  9. EF0, Grafton County, New HampshireJune 18, 20189.4 mi (15 km)
  10. F2, Grafton County, New HampshireAugust 11, 19669.0 mi (14 km)
  11. F2, Strafford County, New HampshireJune 22, 19818.7 mi (14 km)
  12. F2, Strafford and York counties, New Hampshire and MaineMay 14, 19638.7 mi (14 km)

The costliest

  1. EF2, Rockingham, Strafford, Merrimack and Belknap counties, New HampshireJuly 24, 2008$2.0 million
  2. F1, Cheshire County, New HampshireJuly 3, 1997$500,000
  3. F2, Hillsborough County, New HampshireJuly 3, 1997$250,000
  4. F1, Sullivan and Grafton counties, New HampshireAugust 13, 1999$100,000
  5. EF1, Grafton County, New HampshireJuly 16, 2024$80,000
  6. F2, Hillsborough County, New HampshireMay 31, 1998$30,000
  7. EF1, Sullivan County, New HampshireMay 16, 2022$6,000
  8. EF0, Carroll County, New HampshireAugust 22, 2020$5,000
  9. F2, Rockingham County, New HampshireMay 21, 2006$3,000
  10. EF1, Cheshire County, New HampshireJuly 18, 2022$2,000
  11. EF1, Cheshire County, New HampshireJune 23, 2024$1,000

The biggest days in New Hampshire

  1. July 5, 19843tornadoes
  2. August 22, 20202tornadoes
  3. June 18, 20182tornadoes
  4. July 3, 19972tornadoes
  5. August 7, 19862tornadoes
  6. July 21, 19722tornadoes
  7. May 31, 19722tornadoes
  8. August 20, 19682tornadoes
  9. July 18, 19632tornadoes
  10. May 20, 19632tornadoes
  11. July 2, 19612tornadoes
  12. June 9, 19532tornadoes

Every year

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
20242
20231
20222
20202
20183
20161
20151
20142
20122
20111
20101
2008112
200622
20041
19992
19981
199721
19951
19941
19931
19911
19881
19863
19843
19811
19801
19783
197625
19741
19732
197287
19704
19692
196841
196715
19664
19653
19641
19639
19621
196141
19601
19591
195711
19562
19551
19541
195325
19511

Every county in New Hampshire

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 99. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Hillsborough County20
Cheshire County18
Grafton County13
Belknap County121
Rockingham County111
Carroll County9
Coos County7
Merrimack County71
Strafford County71
Sullivan County6
York County2

Nearby

Warnings in force in New HampshireForecast for your townThe live radar over New Hampshire

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.