Massachusetts Tornadoes
| Year | Tornadoes | Deathes | Injuries | Cost Adjusted |
| 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1951 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $ 6,081 |
| 1952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1953 | 2 | 90 | 1245 | $ 598,000,000 |
| 1954 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $ 11,756 |
| 1955 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $ 17,699 |
| 1956 | 10 | 0 | 14 | $ 6,639,600 |
| 1957 | 7 | 0 | 0 | $ 125,478 |
| 1958 | 12 | 1 | 2 | $ 1,139,075 |
| 1959 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1960 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 53 |
| 1961 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $ 158,642 |
| 1962 | 2 | 0 | 3 | $ 104,711 |
| 1963 | 8 | 0 | 0 | $ 227,353 |
| 1964 | 5 | 0 | 0 | $ 622,254 |
| 1965 | 4 | 0 | 0 | $ 502,500 |
| 1966 | 5 | 0 | 1 | $ 537,294 |
| 1967 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 473 |
| 1968 | 6 | 0 | 5 | $ 513,869 |
| 1969 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 4,308 |
| 1970 | 8 | 1 | 0 | $ 1,385,532 |
| 1971 | 6 | 0 | 3 | $ 125,320 |
| 1972 | 10 | 1 | 11 | $ 3,918,787 |
| 1973 | 3 | 4 | 36 | $ 35,967 |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 | 1 | $ 320,717 |
| 1975 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $ 58,778 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 2,779 |
| 1977 | 2 | 0 | 2 | $ 26,091 |
| 1978 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 243 |
| 1979 | 2 | 2 | 3 | $ 2,199,648 |
| 1980 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 | 3 | $ 17,394 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1983 | 2 | 0 | 0 | $ 175 |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $ 31,958 |
| 1985 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 147 |
| 1986 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $ 288,529 |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1988 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1989 | 7 | 0 | 1 | $ 536,821 |
| 1990 | 3 | 0 | 0 | $ 2,432 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $ 116,089 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0 | 4 | $ 11,270 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $ - |
| 1995 | 1 | 3 | 24 | $ 10,374,898 |
| Total | 135 | 102 | 1358 | $ 628,000,000 |
| Avg/year | 3 | 2 | 30 | $ 13,655,830 |
Compared with other States, Massachusetts ranks number 35 for frequency of Tornadoes, 16 for number of deaths, 21 for injuries and 12 for cost of damages. When we compare these statistics to other States by the frequency per square mile, Massachusetts ranks, number 14 for the frequency of tornadoes, number 1 for fatalities, number 1 for injuries per area and number 1 for costs per area. Based on data from 1950 - 1995.
On June 9, 1953 one of the most powerful tornadoes yet recorded struck Worcester the official recorded deaths by NOAA indicate 90 people died. News reports indicate 94 died. The States small size and the large number that died from this single tornado causes Massachusetts to lead the list of States in deaths per sq. mile. While some may dismiss this data as a statistical anomaly, on a per mile basis Massachusetts ranks number 14 for frequency per square mile. This means that on a per square mile basis that Massachusetts experiences more tornadoes than such states as Arkansas, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Massachusetts in 1970 had a population of 5,689,170 and between 1950 and 1995 had 135 tornadoes. This ranks the State number 35 in tornadoes by State. The population in 1970 divided by the number of tornadoes equals 42,142 This ranks Massachusetts number 42 in the ratio of tornadoes to population. Massachusetts had 102 fatalities between 1950 and 1995. Compared to other states it ranked 16 The risk of death in any one year is 1 in 2,509,928 This ranks Massachusetts as number 20 for the risk of death by tornado . Between 1950 and 1995 the state had 1,358 injuries involving tornadoes. This ranks the state number 21 among the States for injury. The risk of injury in any one year is one in 188,522 When we divide the population by the number of injuries, the State ranks number 20 The total cost of tornadoes between 1950 and 1995 was $628,168,192.00 This ranks the state number 12 The cost per person for tornadoes, in the state per year, is $ 2.45 This ranks the State number 17 In costs for tornadoes per person
We encourage you to post your tornado stories, questions, updates, reports on our Massachusetts message board.
Visit our Massachusetts Disaster Center Page during any disaster for links to the best internet disaster resources for the State of Massachusetts.
For national disaster information and links to the hundreds of web pages on our site visit our index page.
Our special Tornado pages can be reached through The Disaster Center Tornado page.