States › Massachusetts › Bristol County

Bristol County, Massachusetts

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 25005 · 580,164 residents (2021) · 553 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 80Tornado · 13Flood · 176Wind · 194Winter · 0

Bristol County within Massachusetts. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Bristol County, Massachusetts, has 528 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950, most of them damaging wind.

That is 95.5 events per 100 square miles, below the Massachusetts figure of 210.6, and 9.1 per 10,000 residents against 23.5 statewide.

20 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 11 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $44M.

FEMA has designated the county in 30 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms And Flooding (major disaster, 15 May 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,558 claims since 1978, of which 1,071 were paid, totalling $14M (about $13K per paid claim). FEMA counts 2,598 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Moderate" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Moderate" ($87M a year across 18 hazards).

71 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 8 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

20events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

528events since 19501 death, 11 injuries recorded

30disaster declarationslast 15 May 2024

1,558NFIP flood claims$14M paid

Compared with Massachusetts and the United States

Measure	Bristol County	Massachusetts	US
Recorded events since 1950	528	16,427	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	95.5	210.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	9.1	23.5	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	20	307	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1	160	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$44M	$1.2B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	2.7	5.1	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$13K	$16K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	4.5	9.2	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1

Tornado: 2Wind: 2

Hail: 1Tornado: 3Wind: 1

Hail: 1Wind: 10

Hail: 13Tornado: 1Flood: 10Wind: 18Lightning: 4Other: 14

Hail: 24Tornado: 1Flood: 27Wind: 35Lightning: 11Other: 9

Hail: 26Tornado: 1Flood: 87Wind: 72Lightning: 18

Hail: 15Tornado: 4Flood: 52Wind: 56Lightning: 7Other: 2

11950s41960s51970s111980s601990s1072000s2042010s1362020s

Recorded events in Bristol County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 408 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 99 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind194

Flood176

Hail80

Lightning40

Other25

Tornado13

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	194	1	2.3%	detail
■ Flood	176	—	9.3%	detail
■ Hail	80	—	5.2%	detail
■ Lightning	40	—	8.0%
■ Other	25	—	8.3%
■ Tornado	13	—	6.3%	detail

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
21 May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	58 mph	—	—	1	—	County
29 Mar 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$24M	—	—	2	County
9 Aug 1968	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	4	County
9 Jun 1953	Tornado	Tornado	F3	$2.5M	—	—	1	County
14 Mar 2010	Flood	Flood	—	$12M	—	—	—	County
22 Jun 1997	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
23 Jul 2008	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
23 Jul 2008	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
19 Jul 2010	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
5 Sep 2012	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$1.5M	—	—	—	County
13 Jun 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$570K	—	—	—	County
14 Jun 1998	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$570K	—	—	—	County
11 Aug 2008	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
22 Jul 2016	Lightning	Lightning	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
3 Jul 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
2 Sep 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$120K	—	—	—	County
28 Jul 2012	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
30 Mar 2014	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
15 May 2024	DR-4780	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
15 Sep 2023	EM-3599	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Lee	Public assistance
18 Apr 2022	DR-4651	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	Public assistance
27 Mar 2020	DR-4496	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3438	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
25 Jun 2018	DR-4372	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
13 Apr 2015	DR-4214	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding	Public assistance
19 Apr 2013	DR-4110	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Flooding	Public assistance
17 Apr 2013	EM-3362	Emergency	Terrorist	Explosions	Public assistance
19 Dec 2012	DR-4097	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
28 Oct 2012	EM-3350	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Sandy	Public assistance
3 Sep 2011	DR-4028	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Irene	Public assistance
26 Aug 2011	EM-3330	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
2 Sep 2010	EM-3315	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Earl	Public assistance
29 Mar 2010	DR-1895	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Dec 2008	EM-3296	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
10 Nov 2005	DR-1614	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
19 Oct 2005	EM-3264	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
13 Sep 2005	EM-3252	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
17 Feb 2005	EM-3201	Emergency	Snowstorm	Record And/Or Near Record Snow	Public assistance
15 Jan 2004	EM-3191	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
11 Mar 2003	EM-3175	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
10 Apr 2001	DR-1364	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance
23 Jun 1998	DR-1224	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains And Flooding	Individual assistance
24 Jan 1996	DR-1090	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	Public assistance
16 Mar 1993	EM-3103	Emergency	Snowstorm	Blizzards, High Winds & Record Snowfall	Public assistance
26 Aug 1991	DR-914	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Bob	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Oct 1985	DR-751	Major disaster	Hurricane	Hurricane Gloria	Public assistance
10 Feb 1978	DR-546	Major disaster	Flood	Coastal Storms, Flood, Ice & Snow	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Sep 1972	DR-357	Major disaster	Fishing Losses	Toxic Algae In Coastal Waters	Individual assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Bristol County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,558

Paid claims1,071

Total paid$14M

Average paid claim$13K

Repetitive-loss properties818 severe

Residential policies in force2,5981.9% of 133,589 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2026	2	0	$0	—
2025	2	0	$0	—
2024	10	5	$68,804	$13,761
2023	49	34	$992,221	$29,183
2022	13	8	$274,548	$34,318
2021	15	12	$606,863	$50,572
2020	5	1	$8,806	$8,806
2019	8	2	$3,328	$1,664
2018	13	9	$107,405	$11,934
2017	1	0	$0	—
2016	3	0	$0	—
2015	3	1	$30,342	$30,342
2014	5	2	$26,511	$13,256
2013	5	4	$13,540	$3,385
2012	61	42	$599,785	$14,281
2011	17	9	$71,922	$7,991
2010	213	166	$2,548,356	$15,352
2009	7	4	$21,979	$5,495
2008	8	3	$27,568	$9,189
2007	11	7	$27,545	$3,935
2006	21	17	$145,863	$8,580
2005	62	51	$696,611	$13,659
2004	1	0	$0	—
2003	3	1	$3,108	$3,108
2002	1	0	$0	—

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Moderatescore 89.9 of 100

Expected annual loss$87MRelatively Moderate

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceVery High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively High	$61,944,844
Hurricane	Relatively Moderate	$10,499,005
Earthquake	Relatively Low	$4,498,841
Heat wave	Relatively Moderate	$2,595,152
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$1,972,686
Strong wind	Relatively High	$1,801,197
Tornado	Relatively Low	$1,411,590
Coastal flooding	Relatively Moderate	$921,862
Lightning	Relatively Moderate	$650,185
Ice storm	Relatively High	$557,672
Drought	Relatively Low	$295,139
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$54,956
Wildfire	Very Low	$24,091
Hail	Very Low	$21,833
Landslide	Very Low	$1,152

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles71

Tracks within 50 miles30

Hurricane strength within 50 miles8

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Elsa	2021	18 mi	58 mph
Henri	2021	46 mi	63 mph
Ida	2021	76 mi	46 mph
Wanda	2021	91 mi	69 mph
Andrea	2013	57 mi	46 mph
Hanna	2008	33 mi	52 mph
Barry	2007	47 mi	40 mph
Beryl	2006	60 mi	52 mph
Hermine	2004	20 mi	40 mph
Floyd	1999	57 mi	58 mph
Danny	1997	95 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1996	48 mi	69 mph
Josephine	1996	52 mi	52 mph
Bob	1991	29 mi	104 mph
Gloria	1985	89 mi	86 mph
Henri	1985	98 mi	40 mph
Belle	1976	89 mi	40 mph
Carrie	1972	84 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1967	83 mi	46 mph
Alma	1966	35 mi	46 mph
Esther	1961	46 mi	86 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1961	89 mi	63 mph
Brenda	1960	89 mi	46 mph
Donna	1960	73 mi	92 mph
Cindy	1959	20 mi	58 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

02719 407
02777 155
02748 137
02790 109
02780 100
02703 89
02760 65
02766 58
02715 57
02726 55
02744 37
02702 33
02740 29
02356 17
02717 16
02771 16
02747 15
02764 14
02725 12
02375 11
02769 11
02791 11
02048 11
02779 10
02718 10
02724 9
02720 8
02721 7
02746 5
02745 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Bristol County, MA?

NCEI records 80 hail events in Bristol County since 1950, in 26 different years; that is about 1.0 recorded events a year. 6 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Bristol County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 13 tornadoes in Bristol County since 1950, 2 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Bristol County?

15 May 2024: Severe Storms And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 30 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Bristol County, and how much was paid?

1,558 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,071 of them paid, for $14M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Bristol County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Moderate" for overall risk, "Relatively Moderate" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Very High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Bristol County compare with the rest of Massachusetts?

95.5 recorded events per 100 square miles against 210.6 statewide, and 2.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 5.1. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 29 Sep 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 30 Sep 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.