Storms and Other Natural Disasters in Hampton's History

Aftermath of the Blizzard of 1978

Ocean Blvd. in the aftermath of the Blizzard of 1978

Stormy Weather: A brief history of Hampton’s storms from Peter Randall’s Hampton, A Century of Town and Beach

The Great Blizzard of 1717: by William D. Cram, Little Stories of Old New England, The Hampton Union, December 1, 1938.

The Earthquake of 1727: From Dow’s History of Hampton; Rev. Gookin’s Sermon on the Earthquake; From William D. Cram’s “Little Stories of Old New England”

The Earthquake of 1755: From Dow’s History of Hampton; The Day The Earth Shook , from Hampton Union , June 2, 2006

The 1898 Hampton Beach Tornado: Several stories about the disastrous tornado that struck the beach one Fourth of July.

The 1898 winter storm: Account of a bad winter storm that hit Hampton in November of 1898.

The great 1931 oceanfront storm: Hampton Union newspaper account of the storm that struck the seacoast on March 4, 1931

The Hurricane of 1938 in Hampton: The Hampton Union report, September 22, 1938; The Hampton Union report, September 29, 1938; Infamous storm hit this day in ’38 , a look back from 2003; The 1938 Hurricane , The Hampton Union , July 31, 2007

Hurricane ‘Carol’ of 1954: Hurricane ‘Carol’ Causes Heavy Loss In Seacoast Area; The Hampton Union , September 2, 1954; Pictures of the aftermath in the Pine Grove cemetery; Photographs by Eloise Lane Smith

The Blizzard of 1978: Blizzard of 1978 Photo Gallery, Part 1 , Part 2 — Various newspapers, February 1978; National Guard called: Hampton Beach in State of Emergency , Portsmouth Herald , February 7, 1978; Blizzard Nearly Brings Seacoast to Halt , Portsmouth Herald , February 7, 1978; Damages at Hampton May go as High as $2M , Portsmouth Herald , February 8, 1978; Seacoast is Battered by Raging Nor’easter: $4 Million in Damage Estimated by Officials , Hampton Union , February 10, 1978; News reports from from the Seacoast SAD , February 15, 1978; In N.H., Storm Weaker, But Still Packed A Wallop , a 2003 article from Foster’s Daily Democrat; The Blizzard of ’78: Where were you? , Seacoast Sunday , February 3, 2008; Seacoast residents Blizzard of ’78 stories Seacoast Sunday , February 3, 2008

The Flooding of May 2006: At Nature’s Mercy , from Hampton Union , May 16, 2006; Rain Damage Is Still Being Assessed , from Hampton Union , May 19, 2006; Angry Residents Demand Answers After Flood , from Hampton Union , May 23, 2006; Scouts Help Clean Up Mess From Rains , from Hampton Union , May 23, 2006; Residents Voice Flood Woes , from Atlantic News , May 26, 2006; Residents Feel Abandoned By Town Officials from Hampton Union , May 26, 2006; Taylor River Residents Air Concerns To Selectmen from Hampton Union , June 9, 2006; Storm Response Assessed from Atlantic News , June 9, 2006; State Responds To Flood Issue from Atlantic News , June 30, 2006; Flood Problems Overflow from Hampton Union , July 25, 2006

Tornado Hits I-95: A small tornado strikes the Hampton area, from Hampton Union , May 23, 2006

Minutes To Evacuate: Severe hailstorm in the Hampton-Exeter area, from Hampton Union , July 14, 2006

The Nor’easter of April 2007: National Guard Called to Beach from Hampton Union , April 17, 2007; Erosion Threatens Oceanfront Homes from Hampton Union , April 18, 2007; Water, Water Everywhere……. from Atlantic News , April 20, 2007; Beach Houses On Brink from Hampton Union , April 20, 2007; Beaches Begin Massive Cleanup from Hampton Union , April 20, 2007; Worst Is Over at Hampton Beach from Hampton Union , April 20, 2007; Major Disaster: Sununu To Help State Gain Funds from Hampton Union , April 24, 2007; 6 Homes Saved from Raging Ocean from Hampton Union , April 24, 2007; Beach Fire Station Takes A Hit from Hampton Union , April 24, 2007; Storm Damages $400K from Hampton Union , April 27, 2007; 2007 Storm Photo Gallery from Hampton Union , April 2007; 2007 Storm Photos of North Beach by Christopher Shipley, April 2007

Small earthquakes in 2007: Fifth Quake Shakes Coast in Last Three Weeks , from Hampton Union , June 22, 2007

Ice storm of December 2008: Outages Send Residents Scurrying to Area Hotels , from Hampton Union , December 12, 2008; State of Emergency Declared; Hundreds of Thousands Powerless , from Hampton Union , Tuesday, December 12, 2008; Thousands Remain in the Dark , from Hampton Union , December 16, 2008; Day 7: A Long, Cold Wait , from Hampton Union , December 19, 2008; Ole fashioned Winter in N.H. , from Hampton Union , December 23, 2008; Unitil Learns from Mistakes , from Hampton Union , February 13, 2009

Winter storm of February 24-25, 2010 – Rain and heavy winds: Gallery of aerial photos of all buildings at the beach taken after the storm, showing extensive damage from the high winds (May load s-l-o-w-l-y!); Stories of the large fire that occurred at Hampton Beach during the story

Hurricane ‘Irene’ of 2011: Irene has enough power to knock out power across Seacoast , the Hampton Union , August 30, 2011; More fun than fear at Hampton Beach during Tropical Storm Irene , the Hampton Union , August 30, 2011; ‘Uneventful’ Hurricane a Good Thing , Hampton-NorthHamptonPatch.com, August 29, 2011

The “Snowtober” storm of October 2011: Snow No Treat: Utilities still working to restore power in Hampton area , the Hampton Union , November 1, 2011

October 2012 Earthquake: Earthquake Felt on NH Seacoast , Hampton-NorthHamptonPatch.com , October 16, 2012; Southern Maine 4.0 earthquake shakes Seacoast , Hampton Union, October 17, 2012

Hurricane ‘Sandy’ of 2012: Sandy Less Severe in Hampton Area than Past Storms , Hampton-NorthHamptonPatch.com, October 30, 2012; “Frankenstorm” Frenzy Whips up Waves of Curiosity , Hampton Union , October 30, 2012; ‘Sandy’ was a Sand Storm at Hampton Beach , Hampton Union , October 30, 2012; Winter storm damage mostly repaired, Seacoast beaches set for summer , Foster’s Daily Democrat , May 24, 2013

Storms and Other Natural Disasters in Hampton’s History