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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison, 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

54 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Madison, Connecticut since 1851, 12 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 25 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
12

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
42

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
25

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Madison

The strongest storm to pass near Madison was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds when its centre passed 15 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1894, whose centre came within 8 miles. The record near Madison begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 42 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1860s, with 5 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 54 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Madison has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 77% of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site. The strongest of the 25 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 10, 1989; its path came within 16 miles. Of the 25, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 9 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2022. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Madison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 13 times since 1994, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Madison.

Compare Madison's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Madison, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 242 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 2225 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 930 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 830 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2852 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 7overheadTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 444 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1710 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1314 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1991BobAug 1950 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2721 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2435 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1021 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2261 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2846 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1123 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 154 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 129 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3019 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1166 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1937 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3130 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 157 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1534 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2115 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 912 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 2030 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3051 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2164 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1715 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 529 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3029 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3058 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1539 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1620 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2417 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 108 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2974 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2453 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1264 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1211 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2224 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2421 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1960 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 535 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3022 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26overheadTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 842 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3070 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1962 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 326 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2825 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1628 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1948 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Madison: 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 Madison

By decade

  • 2020s4
  • 2010s3
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s5
  • 1980s4(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s2
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s4(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Madison, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 10, 1989F416 mi3 mi0 / 40
Aug 21, 1951F320 mi0.1 mi0 / 8
Aug 8, 1999F221 mi4 mi0 / 1
Jul 12, 1950F219 mi10 mi0 / 0
Aug 27, 2020EF112 mi11.1 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2018EF118 mi7.36 mi0 / 0
Jul 31, 2009EF1in town2.94 mi0 / 0
Sep 15, 2000F119 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 30, 1998F115 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 30, 1998F14 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 5, 1981F123 mi2.3 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1974F110 mi0.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 25, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Madison

The Storm Prediction Center has 13 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison since 1994, made on 7 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 1, 2012. The most recent report is from August 26, 2024. July has the most reports, 7.

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

Weather by month in Madison

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Haven Tweed Airport, CT, 15 miles west of Madison at 3 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 23°F. April is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 41.8 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (21.4 of 41.8 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 54 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 6 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 102 nights a year. That 41.8 inches is more than at 1 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (4%). Killingworth, 6 miles north, has its own station (Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT): 45.0 inches a year, 3.2 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 82°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station New Haven, CT, 16 miles west, averaged 75°F in August and 37°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the New London tide gauge, 27 miles from Madison, has risen 1.16 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1938 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 11.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 66 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at New Haven Tweed Airport, CT
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan38232.7539
Feb40242.8637
Mar47303.7641
Apr58394.2748
May68493.5757
Jun76593.5765
Jul82663.4674
Aug81653.6675
Sep75574.0572
Oct64463.8763
Nov53363.1653
Dec44293.5743
Year604441.87456

Averages for 1991–2020 at New Haven Tweed Airport, CT (3 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station New Haven, 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 Madison

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison: 50 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $245,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 27, 2020.

  • June 8, 2008: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Madison — 1 killed, 4 injured.

    NWS: “Lightning struck a pavilion at Hamonassett Beach State Park, resulting in one fatality and four injuries.”

  • July 21, 2010: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 injured.

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 Madison's ZIP code 06443 have filed 584 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $11.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 166 claims (28% of all) and $6.4 million, then Hurricane Sandy in 2012 with 104 and Hurricane Gloria in 1985 with 77. 79% 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, 115 have fewer than Madison.

Flood insurance claims in Madison by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Irene2011166$6.4 million
Hurricane Sandy2012104$2.4 million
Hurricane Gloria198577$731,000
Not a named storm198241$107,000
December Storm - Nor'easter199236$275,000
March 2010 Nor'easter201014$124,000

New Haven County, which includes Madison, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 9 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 Madison