Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bristol, CT

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Burlington, CT, 8 miles north of Bristol at 505 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 17°F. October is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 53.5 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (28.9 of 53.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 50 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 5.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.5 inches is more than at 24 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (89%). Southington, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT): 45.0 inches a year, 8.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 202 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bristol: 147 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods, 24 floods and 7 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $11.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 15, 1997. September has had the most flash floods, 13 of 24. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 81 have had fewer than Bristol.

Flood insurance policyholders in Bristol's ZIP code 06010 have filed 232 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 48 claims (21% of all) and $2.1 million, then Not a named storm in 1982 with 29 and Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 23. 49% 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, 103 have fewer than Bristol.