Connecticut, 2025

Damaging Winds in Connecticut, July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025 · NWS BOX · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

A mid level shortwave and surface cold front brough a smattering of strong to severe storms to southern New England in the evening and early overnight hours. This resulted in scattered wind damage reports in central/northeast CT, northern RI, and central MA.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 mid level shortwave and surface cold front brough a smattering of strong to severe storms to southern New England in the evening and early overnight hours. This resulted in scattered wind damage reports in central/northeast CT, northern RI, and central MA. It also resulted in some flash flooding in southeast MA.

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 Jul 8, 12:53 PM EST, 47 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 8, 12:53 PM EST, 47 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Boston/Norton MA
153 PM EDT Tue Jul 8 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
Higher than normal heat and humidity expected through today. This
afternoon and evening brings scattered thunderstorms capable of
producing damaging winds and flash flooding. Cooler weather expected
Wednesday and beyond. Possible break from unsettled weather for the
upcoming weekend.

&&

.NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...
Key Messages...

*  Strong to severe storms possible with heavy downpours and
   potential for flash flooding.

* Heat advisory in effect for most of the region with heat index
  values climbing to between 95 and 100

Warm and extremely muggy conditions continue early this morning with
patchy fog and widespread low clouds accompanying to start the day.
These will retreat with mixing in the hours after sunrise allowing
for plenty of diurnal heating leading up to today's expected
thunderstorms. A trough of low pressure is moving east from the
Great Lakes today as the remnants of post tropical cyclone Chantal
exit east of the Cape. As these features slide east a plume of
extremely moist air will be overhead with dewpoints in the upper 70s
making it feel positively tropical over much of SNE this afternoon.
PWATs over 2 inches are 2+ standard deviations above normal for us
this time of year, and this anomolous moisture combined with ample
instability and several forcing mechanisms are adding up to a decent
flash flood risk, especially for the southern half of the region. As
for instability, we'll have 1500-2500 J/kg of MUCAPE maximized south
of the MA Pike where the highest dewpoints lie. A shortwave within
the broader trough will pass overhead providing some synoptic lift
while at the surface a slow moving cold front behind the shortwave
and a surface trough will critically provide strong surface
convergence to initialize convection this afternoon and evening.
Thinking that the area of greatest concern is  generally along/south
of the MA Pike where a nearly stationary convergent boundary is
showing up in high resolution guidance. Orientation looks to
generally be SW to NE, in line with nearly unidirectional SW flow in
the low/mid levels suggesting potential for slow moving and training
storms. With warm cloud depths near 14,000 ft suggesting efficient
warm rain processes, any storms that do form will have the potential
to drop an 1-2 inches of rain in an hour and cause localized flash
flooding issues, especially in urban areas. A Flood Watch has been
issued for the area thought to stand the greatest risk from mid
afternoon through the first half of the overnight hours.

The severe weather potential remains, with isolated damaging winds
possible, but factors like poor bulk shear and marginal mid level
lapse rates will limit the coverage of severe storms.

Finally, owing to the previously mentioned heat and choking
humidity, we'll have a Heat Advisory for one more day before relief
arrives.

&&

.SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...
Key Messages...

* Isolated showers and thunderstorms possible but not a washout.

* Much cooler with highs in the 70s (east) and 80s (west).

The biggest change of note will be the cooler temperatures thanks
both to cold advection in the mid levels as well as surface winds
turning NE/onshore pulling in cooler air off the water. As such, the
eastern half of SNE should top out in the 70s while the hottest spot
will be western/central MA, especially the CT valley where highs
reach the mid 80s. Plenty of moisture sticking around with PWATs
still 1.5+ inches, but a weakly forced environment so any showers
will be scattered and difficult to nail down where exactly they'll
materialize.

&&

.LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/...
Key Messages...

* Periodic chances for showers through Friday before a break in the
  unsettled weather for the weekend.

* Near to below average temperatures.

Similar to what we'll see on Wednesday, the latter half of the week
features ample moisture (PWATS 1.5+ inches) and a weakly forced
environment under quasi-zonal flow. This brings a typical summer
time setup with rain and thunderstorm chances each day, favoring the
afternoon. The better synoptic forcing looks to come Thursday with a
weak shortwave overhead, so expect more widespread convection
Thursday than Friday as we approach a period of mid level ridging
for the weekend which may keep rain away.

Temperatures in the 70s on Thursday will slowly climb each day into
the weekend, but only back into the mid to upper 80s.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Moderate - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

18Z update...

Today...Moderate confidence.

W winds 5-10 kts with some occasional gusts 20-25 kts.
Scattered SHRA/TSRA with heavy downpours likely in the afternoon
and evening, especially across the southern terminals. Moderate
confidence in storm placement and timing.

Tonight...Moderate confidence.

IFR cigs expand from east coast to as far west as ORH by 06z,
into western MA/CT terminals by 12z. Scattered SHRA/TSRA
continue through at least 06z.

Tuesday...Moderate confidence.

IFR cigs continue through most of the day from ORH east,
MVFR/VFR west of ORH. NE winds 5-10 kts.

KBOS Terminal...Low confidence in TAF only with regard to
timing of possible convection.

KBDL Terminal...Low confidence in TAF only with regard to
timing of possible convection.

Outlook /Thursday through Saturday/...

Wednesday: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Chance SHRA,
slight chance TSRA.

Wednesday Night: Mainly VFR, with areas IFR possible. Chance
SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Thursday: MVFR/IFR conditions possible. Chance SHRA, slight
chance TSRA.

Thursday Night: Mainly VFR, with areas IFR possible. Chance
SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Friday: Mainly VFR, with local IFR possible. Slight chance
SHRA, slight chance TSRA.

Friday Night: Mainly VFR, with local MVFR possible.

Saturday: VFR.

&&

.MARINE...
Forecaster Confidence Levels...

Low - less than 30 percent.
Medium - 30 to 60 percent.
High - greater than 60 percent.

Today and tonight: High confidence.

SW winds 15-20 kts with seas 2-4 ft on the eastern waters, 3-6 ft on
the southern waters. Showers and thunderstorms expected late evening
through the overnight hours.

Wednesday: High confidence.

Winds 5-10 kts out of the SW on the southern waters and out of the
NE on the eastern waters. Seas 2-4 ft.

Outlook /Thursday through Saturday/...

Wednesday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching
5 ft. Chance of rain showers, slight chance of thunderstorms,
patchy fog.

Wednesday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Chance of rain showers,
slight chance of thunderstorms.

Thursday through Thursday Night: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas
locally approaching 5 ft. Chance of rain showers, slight chance
of thunderstorms.

Friday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas locally approaching 5 ft.
Slight chance of rain showers, slight chance of thunderstorms.

Friday Night through Saturday: Winds less than 25 kt. Seas
locally approaching 5 ft.

&&

.BOX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CT...Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for CTZ002>004.
     Flood Watch through late tonight for CTZ002>004.
MA...Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for MAZ003>007-
     010>022-026.
     Flood Watch through late tonight for MAZ011>013-015>022.
RI...Heat Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for RIZ001>007.
     Flood Watch through late tonight for RIZ001>007.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 8 PM EDT this evening for ANZ235-
     237.
     Small Craft Advisory until 8 AM EDT Wednesday for ANZ254>256.

&&

SYNOPSIS...Belk/McMinn
NEAR TERM...McMinn
SHORT TERM...McMinn
LONG TERM...Belk
AVIATION...Belk/McMinn
MARINE...Belk/McMinn

The radar

The Brookhaven radar (KOKX), 94 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hartford

When
July 8, 1:40 PM EST
Where
Hartford County, 0.86 mi NW of Robertson Arpt
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$1,000
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
41.710, -72.880

In Farmington, strong wind gusts resulted in a few downed trees and large branches.

Thunderstorm Wind, Windham

When
July 8, 10:45 PM EST
Where
Windham County, 0.86 mi NE of Klondike
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$300
Reported by
Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates
41.940, -71.890

In Thompson, a tree was down blocking part of Riverside Dr.

Thunderstorm Wind, Windham

When
July 8, 10:50 PM EST
Where
Windham County, 0.69 mi N of Dayville
Measured
50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$500
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
41.840, -71.880

In Killingly, the northbound side of I-395 between mile marker 37 and 38 had a large tree blocking the right lane.

What these are

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 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Connecticut, July 2025

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1261858, 1261859, 1261860.