Name: Damaging Wind and Strong Wind in Connecticut, October 7, 2013
Start: 2013-10-07T13:01
End: 2013-10-07T17:52
Location: Connecticut

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $20,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS BOX wrote it up.

A warm front moved northward across southern New England Sunday night (Oct 6) into Monday (Oct 7) creating a warm, moist, unstable atmosphere over the region. Monday afternoon and evening (Oct 7) a strong cold front brought a line of strong to severe showers and storms through southern New England. Strong, damaging winds occurred both with the storms and in the tight pressure gradient ahead of the front.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Boston/Norton, MA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 7, 12:51 PM EST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 7, 12:51 PM EST, 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 7, 3:19 AM EST, 9 hours 42 minutes before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 7, 9:55 AM EST, 3 hours 6 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA
1055 AM EDT MON OCT 7 2013

CTZ002>004-MAZ002>024-026-NHZ011-012-015-RIZ001>008-072200-
HARTFORD CT-TOLLAND CT-WINDHAM CT-WESTERN FRANKLIN MA-
EASTERN FRANKLIN MA-NORTHERN WORCESTER MA-CENTRAL MIDDLESEX MA-
WESTERN ESSEX MA-EASTERN ESSEX MA-WESTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-
WESTERN HAMPDEN MA-EASTERN HAMPSHIRE MA-EASTERN HAMPDEN MA-
SOUTHERN WORCESTER MA-WESTERN NORFOLK MA-SOUTHEAST MIDDLESEX MA-
SUFFOLK MA-EASTERN NORFOLK MA-NORTHERN BRISTOL MA-
WESTERN PLYMOUTH MA-EASTERN PLYMOUTH MA-SOUTHERN BRISTOL MA-
SOUTHERN PLYMOUTH MA-BARNSTABLE MA-DUKES MA-NANTUCKET MA-
NORTHERN MIDDLESEX MA-CHESHIRE NH-EASTERN HILLSBOROUGH NH-
WESTERN AND CENTRAL HILLSBOROUGH NH-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE RI-
SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE RI-WESTERN KENT RI-EASTERN KENT RI-
BRISTOL RI-WASHINGTON RI-NEWPORT RI-BLOCK ISLAND RI-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HARTFORD...WINDSOR LOCKS...UNION...
VERNON...PUTNAM...WILLIMANTIC...CHARLEMONT...GREENFIELD...
ORANGE...BARRE...FITCHBURG...FRAMINGHAM...LOWELL...LAWRENCE...
GLOUCESTER...CHESTERFIELD...BLANDFORD...AMHERST...NORTHAMPTON...
SPRINGFIELD...MILFORD...WORCESTER...FOXBORO...NORWOOD...
CAMBRIDGE...BOSTON...QUINCY...TAUNTON...BROCKTON...PLYMOUTH...
FALL RIVER...NEW BEDFORD...MATTAPOISETT...CHATHAM...FALMOUTH...
PROVINCETOWN...VINEYARD HAVEN...NANTUCKET...AYER...JAFFREY...
KEENE...MANCHESTER...NASHUA...PETERBOROUGH...WEARE...FOSTER...
SMITHFIELD...PROVIDENCE...WEST GREENWICH...WARWICK...BRISTOL...
NARRAGANSETT...WESTERLY...NEWPORT...BLOCK ISLAND
1055 AM EDT MON OCT 7 2013

...POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH DAMAGING
WINDS LATE TODAY.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON
AND CROSS THE REGION LATE TODAY AND THIS EVENING. STRONG SOUTHERLY
WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT MAY GUST UP TO 40 TO 45 MPH THIS
AFTERNOON.

OF GREATER CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A LINE OF SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS MOVING INTO THE REGION LATE TODAY AND EARLY EVENING.
A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE
DAMAGING WIND GUSTS...AND AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANT BE COMPLETELY
RULED OUT.

THE GREATEST THREAT FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE ACROSS THE
BERKSHIRES AND CONNECTICUT VALLEY BETWEEN 4 AND 7 PM. LOCALLY
HEAVY RAINFALL PRODUCING AREAS OF URBAN AND POOR DRAINAGE
FLOODING IS A SECONDARY THREAT.

THE LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN AS IT
MOVES EAST INTO THE BOSTON TO PROVIDENCE CORRIDOR EARLY THIS
EVENING. BRIEF GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
FRONT.

KJC

The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:53 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 strong wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Hartford

When: October 7, 1:01 PM EST to 3:38 PM EST
Where: Hartford forecast zone
Measured: 28 kt (32 mph) measured sustained
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 41.819, -72.572 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Automated Surface Observing System at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT (KBDL) recorded a sustained wind speed of 32 mph. In Hartford, a tree was downed onto wires on Clark Street. Power lines were downed on West Mountain Road in Simsbury.

Thunderstorm Wind, Tolland

When: October 7, 5:52 PM EST
Where: Tolland County, Herbron
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 41.650, -72.370

A tree on Martin Road was downed by thunderstorm winds, blocking the whole road.

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Connecticut in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Connecticut, October 2013

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 473509, 473476.