Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in Connecticut

125 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 1.6 a year, 43rd of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 4 people and injured 703. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in Connecticut

  1. F4, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutOctober 3, 19793 killed, 500 injured
  2. F3, South Central Connecticut Planning Region and Capitol Planning Region counties, ConnecticutMay 24, 19621 killed, 50 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutOctober 3, 1979F4, 11.3 mi (18 km)
  2. F4, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 10, 1989F4, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  3. F3, South Central Connecticut Planning Region and Capitol Planning Region counties, ConnecticutMay 24, 1962F3, 11.6 mi (19 km)
  4. F3, ConnecticutMay 10, 1954F3, 0.3 mi (0 km)
  5. F3, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 29, 1971F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  6. F3, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region County, ConnecticutAugust 21, 1951F3, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  7. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region and Capitol Planning Region counties, ConnecticutAugust 21, 1951F2, 43.9 mi (71 km)
  8. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region, Berkshire and Hampden counties, Connecticut and MassachusettsAugust 11, 1966F2, 10.7 mi (17 km)
  9. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 10, 1989F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  10. F2, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 12, 1950F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  11. F2, ConnecticutAugust 19, 1965F2, 6.6 mi (11 km)
  12. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region and South Central Connecticut Planning Region counties, ConnecticutJuly 10, 1989F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)

The longest paths

  1. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region and Capitol Planning Region counties, ConnecticutAugust 21, 195143.9 mi (71 km)
  2. F1, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 19, 196312.3 mi (20 km)
  3. F3, South Central Connecticut Planning Region and Capitol Planning Region counties, ConnecticutMay 24, 196211.6 mi (19 km)
  4. F4, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutOctober 3, 197911.3 mi (18 km)
  5. EF1, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutAugust 27, 202011.1 mi (18 km)
  6. EF1, ConnecticutJuly 10, 201310.9 mi (17 km)
  7. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region, Berkshire and Hampden counties, Connecticut and MassachusettsAugust 11, 196610.7 mi (17 km)
  8. F0, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 1, 200110.0 mi (16 km)
  9. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 10, 198910.0 mi (16 km)
  10. F1, Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutJune 24, 198510.0 mi (16 km)
  11. F2, Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 12, 195010.0 mi (16 km)
  12. F1, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutAugust 7, 19729.3 mi (15 km)

The costliest

  1. EF1, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 1, 2013$5.0 million
  2. EF1, Western Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutJune 24, 2010$3.2 million
  3. F1, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 3, 1996$2.0 million
  4. EF1, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutJune 26, 2009$750,000
  5. EF1, Capitol Planning Region County, ConnecticutJuly 21, 2010$565,000
  6. EF1, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutAugust 27, 2020$500,000
  7. F2, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutJune 23, 2001$250,000
  8. EF0, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutNovember 13, 2021$150,000
  9. F1, Northwest Hills Planning Region County, ConnecticutJune 23, 2001$150,000
  10. EF0, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutNovember 13, 2021$100,000
  11. EF1, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutMay 15, 2018$100,000
  12. EF1, South Central Connecticut Planning Region County, ConnecticutMay 15, 2018$100,000

The biggest days in Connecticut

  1. July 21, 20105tornadoes
  2. November 13, 20214tornadoes
  3. May 15, 20184tornadoes
  4. August 27, 20203tornadoes
  5. August 2, 20203tornadoes
  6. July 1, 20133tornadoes
  7. June 23, 20013tornadoes
  8. June 30, 19983tornadoes
  9. July 10, 19893tornadoes
  10. September 18, 19733tornadoes
  11. October 2, 20182tornadoes
  12. July 31, 20092tornadoes

Every year

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
20241
20233
20221
20218
20207
20191
20189
20161
20141
20134
20111
201063
20093
20072
20024
200141
20001
19984
19962
19952
19941
19931
19924
199017
198931141
19852
19841
19831
19821
1979135001
19761
19752
19742
197381
19723
197122
197011
19682
19661
19651
19631
19622150
19611
19593
195832
19571
19561
19552
195422
1951317
195023

Every county in Connecticut

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 125. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Northwest Hills Planning Region38
South Central Connecticut Planning Region201
Capitol Planning Region194
Western Connecticut Planning Region15
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region11
Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region8
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region3
Hampden County2
Providence County2
Berkshire County1
Worcester County1
Washington County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in ConnecticutForecast for your townThe live radar over Connecticut

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.