Tornadoes in New Hampshire

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Locations of known tornado touchdowns in New Hampshire (1950 – present). Click on a peg to see details on that event.

Tornadoes are a relatively uncommon occurrence in New Hampshire, with only one or two touching down each year on average. Tornadic events primarily occur in the summer, with July featuring the most confirmed tornadoes. These storms are also more common over southern counties. [1] The region's climate and mountainous topography serve to inhibit tornadic formation; however, conditions can still coalesce for small-scale events. [2] The majority of these tend to be short-lived and weak, with a 1950–1990 average path length of 1.64 mi (2.64 km). The two strongest known tornadoes were rated F3 on the Fujita scale [note 1] and touched down on June 9, 1953, and August 20, 1968. However, a violent tornado on September 9, 1821, is believed to have caused EF4 damage and is considered the worst such storm in New Hampshire history. The early 1960s through the early 1970s featured an unusually active period for the state, with several years having four or more tornadoes; 1963 had nine confirmed tornadoes, the highest of any year. The most recent fatal tornado was an EF2 on July 24, 2008, that killed one person, damaged or destroyed 60 buildings, and impacted thousands of acres of forest. [1]

Contents

Since 1950, tornadoes have collectively killed one person, injured forty others, and caused $12.6 million in damage. Inclusive of historical events, there have only been six fatal tornadoes in the state's history: May 23, 1782 (1 death), May 21, 1814 (1 death), September 9, 1821 (6 deaths), July 4, 1898 (3 deaths), July 23, 1946 (1 death), and July 24, 2008 (1 death).

Tornado listings between 1880 and 1949 are primarily based upon research by Thomas P. Grazulis and events from 1950 to the present are obtained from the National Climatic Data Center's storm event database. The works of Grazulis only cover significant tornadoes (F2–5), thus a complete record of events prior to 1950 is not available.

Pre-1900

1900–59

1960–79

1980–99

Weather radar reflectivity imagery of severe thunderstorms on July 3, 1997, across southern New England; two tornadoes touched down in New Hampshire on this day.

2000 – present

Statistics

Number of recorded tornadoes by month in New Hampshire
MonthNumber of tornadoes
January
0
February
0
March
0
April
0
May
0
June
0
July
0
August
0
September
0
October
0
November
0
December
0
Unspecified
0
Tornadoes causing deaths and/or injuries in New Hampshire
DateCountiesDeathsInjuries
May 23, 1782Sullivan11
August 15, 1787Strafford02
May 21, 1814Hillsborough, Rockingham10
September 9, 1821Sullivan, Merrimack6Hundreds
July 16, 1880Grafton01
May 16, 1890Rockingham00
July 4, 1898Rockingham3120
July 23, 1946Merrimack11
June 9, 1953Rockingham015
July 3, 1997Cheshire01
May 21, 2006Rockingham02
July 24, 2008Rockingham12

See also

Notes

  1. The Fujita scale was used to rate tornadoes, actively and through reanalysis, from 1950 to January 2007. On February 1, 2007, the Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original and is presently used to assess tornado damage. [3] Events previously analyzed with the old Fujita scale would retain their original assessment and would not be reassigned an EF-scale number.

References

General
Specific
  1. 1 2 3 "UNH Climatologist Available to Discuss Tornadoes in New Hampshire". Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. June 7, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Straus, Hunter (2009). July 24th, 2008 New Hampshire tornado (PDF) (Report). University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  3. "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". Storm Prediction Center. n.d. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. Ludlum, p. 3
  5. 1 2 Ludlum, pp. 9–10
  6. Ludlum, p. 10
  7. Ludlum, p. 12
  8. Ludlum, pp. 12–16
  9. Ludlum, pp. 19–20
  10. 1 2 Fred William (1908). The great tornado of 1821 in New Hampshire. Library of Congress. ASIN   B003UEQVQ0.{{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. 1 2 "History of Warner: Chapter VI – Tornado of 1821". Town of Warner, New Hampshire. n.d. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  12. Ludlum, pp. 20–27
  13. 1 2 3 "Tornadoes have taken lives in NH just 4 times since 1821". WMUR-TV . Manchester, New Hampshire: Hearst Corporation. July 25, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "Sunapee: 6 Killed, Hundreds Hurt In 1821 Tornado". WMUR-TV . Sunapee, New Hampshire: Hearst Corporation. November 22, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  15. "Natural Hazards". New Hampshire Department of Safety. Government of New Hampshire. n.d. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  16. Grazulis, p. 4
  17. Grazulis, p. 46
  18. "Tornado at Hampton Beach, N. H., July 4, 1898" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review . 26 (7). American Meteorological Society: 308–309. July 1898. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1898)26[308b:TAHBNH]2.0.CO;2 . Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  19. Grazulis, p. 176
  20. Grazulis, p. 319
  21. New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  22. "Twisters Damage N.E. Communities". The Post-Standard. Vol. 122, no. 341. Boston, Massachusetts. Associated Press. August 22, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved January 11, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  23. Grazulis, p. 354
  24. New Hampshire Event Report: F3 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
  25. Grazulis, p. 368
  26. New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
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  31. "New Hampshire Event Report: F2 tornado" . Retrieved January 1, 2026.
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  33. New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  34. "June 1960" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 2 (6). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1960: 58. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  35. New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  36. New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  37. 1 2 "July 1961" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 2 (7). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1961: 58. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  38. New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  39. New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  40. "August 1961" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 2 (8). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1961: 92. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  41. "August 1980" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 22 (8). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1980: 14. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  42. "June 1981" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 23 (6). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1981: 19. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  43. "July 1984" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 26 (7). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center. 1984: 25. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  44. S. C. Lackey, ed. (1986). "June 1986" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 28 (6). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 33. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  45. S. C. Lackey, ed. (1986). "August 1986" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena. 28 (8). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 36. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  46. S. C. Lackey, ed. (1988). "July 1988" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena with Late Reports and Corrections. 30 (7). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 45. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 19, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  47. Grant W. Goodge, ed. (1991). "May 1991" (PDF). Storm Data and Unusual Weather Phenomena with Late Reports and Corrections. 33 (5). Asheville, North Carolina: National Climatic Data Center: 151. ISSN   0039-1972 . Retrieved January 14, 2016.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  48. New Hampshire Event Report: F0 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  49. New Hampshire Event Report: F0 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  50. New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  51. 1 2 New Hampshire Event Report: F1 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  52. 1 2 New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  53. New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  54. New Hampshire Event Report: F0 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2004. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  55. New Hampshire Event Report: F2 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  56. New Hampshire Event Report: F0 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  57. 1 2 3 4 New Hampshire Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  58. 1 2 3 New Hampshire Event Report: EF2 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  59. 2008 Forst Health New Hampshire Highlights (PDF) (Report). United States Forest Service. February 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
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  63. New Hampshire Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  64. New Hampshire Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  65. New Hampshire Event Report: EF1 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  66. New Hampshire Event Report: EF0 Tornado. National Weather Service in Portland/Gray, Maine (Report). National Climatic Data Center. 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  67. May 4 New Hampshire Tornado Was One of New England's Longest on Record, NWS Says, The Weather Channel, May 15, 2018
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  70. "Storm Events Database August 22, 2020". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
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  72. "New Hampshire Event Report: EF1 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  73. "Maine Event Report: EF1 Tornado" (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Gray, Maine. 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  74. National Weather Service in Gray, Maine (2023). [New Hampshire Event Report: EF1 Tornado] (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  75. National Weather Service in Gray, Maine (2024). New Hampshire Event Report: EF1 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  76. National Weather Service in Gray, Maine (2024). Maine Event Report: EF1 Tornado (Report). National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved October 17, 2024.