Massachusetts Summary
U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters
From 1982–2026, Massachusetts experienced 48 billion-dollar events totaling $10B–20B in CPI-adjusted costs. The costliest year was 1991 ($2B–5B), and the most active year by count was 2023 (4 events). Risk Score accounted for the largest share of costs, while Risk Score was most frequent. Over the last 5 years, annual CPI-adjusted costs were down 21% versus the long-term average.
Massachusetts Monthly Climatology of Billion-Dollar Disasters (45 years)
| Month | Drought | Flooding | Freeze | Severe Storm | Tropical Cyclone | Wildfire | Winter Storm | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| Feb | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Mar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Apr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| May | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jun | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jul | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Aug | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Sep | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Oct | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Nov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
Massachusetts Monthly Probability of Billion-Dollar Disasters
| Month | 1+ Events | 2+ Events | 3+ Events | 4+ Events | 5+ Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Feb | 20% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mar | 16% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Apr | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| May | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Jun | 7% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Jul | 7% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Aug | 13% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Sep | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Oct | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Nov | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Dec | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Massachusetts Cost (cumulative monthly)
Massachusetts Events (cumulative monthly)
Massachusetts's Billion-Dollar Disasters
Central and Eastern Winter Storm
Eastern Severe Storms
Central Tornado Outbreak and Eastern Severe Weather
Central and Eastern Severe Weather
Southern Tornado Outbreak and East Coast Storm
East Coast Storm and Flooding
Northeastern and Eastern Severe Weather
Northeastern Flooding and North Central Severe Weather
Northeastern Winter Storm/Cold Wave
Central and Eastern Winter Storm and Cold Wave
Hurricane Ida
Tropical Storm Fred
Tropical Storm Elsa
Hurricane Isaias
Southeast and Eastern Tornado Outbreak
South, East and Northeast Severe Weather
Southeast, Ohio Valley and Northeast Severe Weather
Central and Eastern Severe Weather
Northeast Winter Storm
Central and Eastern Winter Storm
West/Northeast/Southeast Drought
Southeast and Eastern Tornadoes
Central and Eastern Winter storm, Cold Wave
Hurricane Sandy
Northeastern Winter Storm
Hurricane Irene
Groundhog Day Blizzard
Northeast Flooding
East/South Severe Weather and Flooding
Hurricane Floyd
Central and Eastern Winter Storm
Central and Eastern Winter Storm
Central and Eastern Severe Storms and Flooding
Northern Plains and Great Lakes Derecho, Tornadoes
Mississippi and Ohio Valley Severe Weather and Flooding
New England Flooding
Blizzard/Floods
Southeast Ice Storm
Winter Storm, Cold Wave
East Coast Blizzard and Severe Weather
Northeast Winter Storm
Hurricane Bob
Hurricane Gloria
Tornadoes, Severe Storms, Floods
Freeze/Cold Wave
Severe Storms
Midwest/Southeast/Northeast Winter Storm, Cold Wave
About State-Level Data
State-level summaries and charts on this page are derived from authoritative data that assigns costs to each affected state for every billion-dollar disaster. Those state-specific costs are shown only as binned ranges. The event cards and table list each disaster's full event cost rather than an exact state allocation.
Climate Central maintains this comprehensive database tracking U.S. weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including Consumer Price Index adjustment). As the steward of this dataset, Climate Central is committed to maintaining the scientific rigor and methodological standards established by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) while enhancing the dataset's utility for climate communication and public understanding of climate risks.
For more information on methodology and data sources, please visit the main Billion-Dollar Disasters page.
