Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bridgeport, CT

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

49 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bridgeport, Connecticut since 1851, 10 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 32 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
10

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
39

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
32

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Bridgeport

The strongest storm to pass near Bridgeport was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 116 mph winds when its centre passed 16 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gloria in 1985, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Bridgeport begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 46 miles away. The 1860s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 49 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site, 47% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Bridgeport. The strongest of the 32 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 10, 1989; its path came within 17 miles. Of the 32, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 12, 2023. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Bridgeport. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 25 times since 1973, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bridgeport.

Compare Bridgeport's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bridgeport

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bridgeport, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 246 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 2266 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 947 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 847 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2826 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 716 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 466 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1711 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 132 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 276 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2445 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 105 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2230 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2823 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 115 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1518 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1231 miCategory 2 (96 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 301 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1935 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3156 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 142 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1554 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2116 miCategory 3 (116 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 910 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1935 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3025 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1737 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 419 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3055 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1552 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1640 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1467 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 169 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2437 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1030 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2958 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2425 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1226 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2221 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2437 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 547 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 303 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2613 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 869 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3042 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1937 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 347 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 283 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1655 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bridgeport: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bridgeport

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s7
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s7
  • 1980s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s3
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Bridgeport, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 10, 1989F417 mi3 mi0 / 40
Jul 19, 1971F214 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Oct 24, 1955F223 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 14, 1950F217 mi5 mi0 / 3
Aug 27, 2020EF121 mi11.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 2, 2018EF114 mi3.76 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2018EF119 mi7.36 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2018EF116 mi3.67 mi0 / 0
Jun 9, 2011EF124 mi0.04 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 2010EF11 mi0.16 mi0 / 3
Jul 31, 2009EF17 mi0.86 mi0 / 0
May 16, 2007EF116 mi4.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 32, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Bridgeport

The Storm Prediction Center has 25 hail reports within 10 miles of Bridgeport since 1973, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 13 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 25, 1994. The most recent report is from September 6, 2018. May and August have the most reports, 8 each.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Radar-estimated hail days in Bridgeport since 2019 →

Weather by month in Bridgeport

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Bridgeport Sikorsky Mem Airport, CT, 4 miles southeast of Bridgeport at 5 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 24°F. April is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February and November the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 44.2 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (22.0 of 44.2 inches). September has brought the most of the 49 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 92 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 44.2 inches is more than at 5 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (19%). Westport, 9 miles southwest, has its own station (Stamford 5 N, CT): 51.5 inches a year, 7.3 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Bridgeport, CT, 1 mile southeast, averaged 76°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Bridgeport tide gauge, 1 mile from Bridgeport, has risen 1.35 ± 0.08 inches per decade from 1964 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 13.5 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 81 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Bridgeport Sikorsky Mem Airport, CT
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan38243.278.542
Feb41263.1610.739
Mar47324.187.042
Apr58424.270.948
May68523.670.056
Jun78623.870.065
Jul83683.360.073
Aug82674.060.076
Sep75604.060.074
Oct64483.860.166
Nov54383.160.956
Dec44304.085.546
Year614644.27833.657

Averages for 1991–2020 at Bridgeport Sikorsky Mem Airport, CT (5 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Bridgeport, CT, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Connecticut weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Bridgeport

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 183 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bridgeport: 117 thunderstorm wind reports, 51 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 3 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 4 people and injured 33, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 24, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 15 of 51. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 149 have had fewer than Bridgeport.

  • May 8, 2010: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Bridgeport — 1 killed, 2 injured.

  • August 18, 2024: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Bridgeport — 1 killed, $100,000 damage.

  • July 17, 2019: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Bridgeport — 1 killed, $7,000 damage.

    NWS: “A 21 year old man was killed when a large tree limb and power lines fell onto his car in the northbound lanes of Park Avenue between Wilson Street and Merritt Street.”

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Flood insurance policyholders in Bridgeport's 6 ZIP codes have filed 954 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $15.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 201 claims (21% of all) and $6.1 million, then Not a named storm in 1982 with 194 and Hurricane Irene in 2011 with 82. 62% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Connecticut cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 121 have fewer than Bridgeport.

Flood insurance claims in Bridgeport by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Sandy2012201$6.1 million
Not a named storm1982194$1.5 million
Hurricane Irene201182$1.6 million
Hurricane Ida202140$748,000
December Storm - Nor'easter199232$781,000
Flooding198021$83,000

Fairfield County, which includes Bridgeport, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 8 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on September 20, 2024.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Bridgeport