County Hazards

States › Massachusetts › 1997

Massachusetts, 1997

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

561events recorded541 in 1996
1deaths recorded34 injuries
$15Mproperty damage (estimates)$10K crop damage
0disaster declarations187 NFIP claims, $1.2M paid
← 19961998 →

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

Wind322
Winter121
Hail55
Other37
Lightning12
Tornado8
Flood5
Heat1

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1997 was 561 against 541 in 1996.

Counties with the most recorded events

CountyEvents in 1997
Berkshire County40
Barnstable County34
Dukes County23
Nantucket County22
Worcester County15
Bristol County13
Plymouth County13
Middlesex County12
Hampden County11
Franklin County10
Hampshire County9
Suffolk County8
Norfolk County6
Essex County2

Notable events

DateCountyEvent typeMagnitudeProperty damageDeathsInjuries
22 Jun 1997PlymouthThunderstorm Wind104 mph—1—
28 Nov 1997Forecast zoneWinter Weather—$30,000—21
9 Aug 1997WorcesterLightning———4
22 Jun 1997SuffolkLightning———2
3 Jul 1997BerkshireLightning———2
1 Apr 1997Forecast zoneHeavy Snow—$2,500,000—1
18 Jul 1997PlymouthLightning—$10,000—1
9 Jul 1997BerkshireLightning—$4,000—1
9 Jul 1997WorcesterThunderstorm Wind81 mph$4,000—1
22 Jun 1997BristolLightning———1
1 Apr 1997Forecast zoneHeavy Snow—$2,500,000——
1 Apr 1997Forecast zoneHeavy Snow—$2,500,000——
1 Apr 1997Forecast zoneHeavy Snow—$2,500,000——
3 Jul 1997BerkshireTornadoF2$1,500,000——
3 Jul 1997BerkshireTornadoF2$1,500,000——
31 Mar 1997BerkshireWinter Storm—$1,000,000——
22 Jun 1997NorfolkLightning—$100,000——
13 Sep 1997EssexLightning—$100,000——
3 Jul 1997FranklinTornadoF1$50,000——
3 Jul 1997FranklinTornadoF1$50,000——
3 Jul 1997BerkshireTornadoF1$50,000——
3 Jul 1997BerkshireTornadoF1$15,000——
6 Aug 1997BristolTornadoF0———
20 Aug 1997PlymouthTornadoF0———

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 1997

No declaration touching Massachusetts was made in 1997.

Flood insurance claims with a 1997 date of loss

187 NFIP claims, 128 of them paid, for $1,236,737.

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.