States › Massachusetts › 1996

Massachusetts, 1996

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

541events recorded98 in 1995

2deaths recorded77 injuries

$64Mproperty damage (estimates)

3disaster declarations1,304 NFIP claims, $8.6M paid

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.

Events by hazard

Winter213

Wind168

Flood70

Other52

Hail27

Lightning8

Heat3

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1996 was 541 against 98 in 1995.

Counties with the most recorded events

County	Events in 1996
Barnstable County	24
Suffolk County	21
Hampden County	19
Middlesex County	18
Dukes County	17
Franklin County	17
Berkshire County	15
Nantucket County	15
Worcester County	15
Plymouth County	13
Hampshire County	12
Norfolk County	12
Bristol County	9
Essex County	8

Notable events

Date	County	Event type	Magnitude	Property damage	Deaths	Injuries
21 May 1996	Bristol	Thunderstorm Wind	58 mph	—	1	—
20 Jul 1996	Forecast zone	Strong Wind	46 mph	—	1	—
21 May 1996	Plymouth	Thunderstorm Wind	104 mph	$4,000,000	—	60
8 Jun 1996	Norfolk	Lightning	—	—	—	7
8 Jun 1996	Worcester	Lightning	—	—	—	3
8 Jun 1996	Worcester	Lightning	—	—	—	2
8 Jul 1996	Middlesex	Lightning	—	—	—	2
27 Aug 1996	Hampshire	Lightning	—	$20,000	—	1
23 Aug 1996	Hampden	Lightning	—	—	—	1
23 Aug 1996	Worcester	Lightning	—	—	—	1
21 Oct 1996	Suffolk	Flash Flood	—	$10,000,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Suffolk	Heavy Snow	—	$7,000,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$2,000,000	—	—
13 Jun 1996	Franklin	Flash Flood	—	$1,800,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,600,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,500,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,500,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,500,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,400,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,400,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Dec 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,360,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,300,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,300,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,300,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,200,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,200,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,000,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Forecast zone	Heavy Snow	—	$1,000,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Barnstable	Heavy Snow	—	$800,000	—	—
7 Jan 1996	Dukes	Heavy Snow	—	$800,000	—	—

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1996

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
25 Oct 1996	DR-1142	Major disaster	Flood	Extreme Weather Conditons And Flooding	5
23 Oct 1996	EM-3119	Emergency	Flood	Extreme Weather Conditions And Flooding	5
24 Jan 1996	DR-1090	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Blizzard Of 96	14

Flood insurance claims with a 1996 date of loss

1,304 NFIP claims, 893 of them paid, for $8,580,938.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.