
In the middle of a busy Thursday afternoon, a completely unexpected tornado touched down in Johnston, Rhode Island and tore through the state before ending in Massachusetts. Winds may have approached 200mph within the twister, likely making it the strongest storm to ever tear through New Hampshire.ĪUGUST 30, 1838: Worst in Rhode Island history? There were also reports of hail up to 5 inches in circumference. Kearsarge and then dove into the town of Warner, where the most damage was likely done. It was straight between Linne and Hampton." It darkened the air with dust, yet through God's great mercy it did no hurt, but only killed one Indian with the fall of a tree. It lifted up their meeting house at Newbury, the people being in it. so violent for half an hour as it blew down multitudes of trees. In an entry on July 5, 1643, Winthrop wrote: "There arose a sudden gust at N.W. Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop kept a detailed journal of weather events in the Boston area during the 1630s and 1640s. JULY 5, 1643: First record of a tornado in the United States? Here's a look through New England's most notable tornadic events: Every once in a while, however, New England gets hammered by a powerful twister or even a small outbreak.

Only three tornadoes since 2008 has been ranked higher than EF1 strength. A vast majority of these storms are very weak and short lived.


New England Storm Center has been keeping track of every New England tornado since 2009. Every summer, a small handful of tornadoes touch down across New England.
