NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Milton, VT
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
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Milton, Vermont since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 10
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Milton
The strongest storm to pass near Milton was an unnamed storm in 1900, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The record near Milton begins with an unnamed storm in 1866; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 16 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1920s, with 2 systems. Of the 11 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 75 Vermont cities on this site, 36% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Milton. The highest rating among the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on August 8, 1983, came within 8 miles. Of the 16, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 3 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 6. The most recent tornado was on June 10, 2025. Milton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 77% of the 75 Vermont cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1969, with stones up to 3.3 inches. Milton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 75 Vermont cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Milton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 5 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 29 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 22 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 12 | 56 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Milton: 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 Milton
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2000s2
- 1980s3
- 1970s4
- 1960s5
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 1983 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1970 | F2 | 11 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jul 4, 1963 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 20, 1962 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1961 | F2 | 20 mi | 7.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F2 | 12 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2008 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1973 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1973 | F1 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1972 | F1 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1961 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1953 | F1 | 11 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Milton
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Milton since 1969, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.3 inches, fell on July 16, 2009. The most recent report is from July 21, 2022. July has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Milton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is S Hero, VT, 8 miles west of Milton at 110 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 35.1 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 61% of the year's precipitation (21.3 of 35.1 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 35.1 inches is more than at 0 of the 33 Vermont stations used on this site (0%). Fairfax, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (St Albans Radio, VT): 38.2 inches a year, 3.1 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 11 | 1.9 | 5 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 31 | 12 | 1.6 | 4 | 11.6 |
| Mar | 40 | 22 | 2.0 | 5 | 10.6 |
| Apr | 54 | 34 | 2.7 | 7 | 2.2 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 53 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 46 | 31 | 2.7 | 6 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 34 | 21 | 2.2 | 6 | 10.9 |
| Year | 56 | 38 | 35.1 | 75 | 50.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at S Hero, VT (110 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Milton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 141 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Milton: 123 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 lightning strikes, 7 floods, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 3 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 16, 2007.
July 30, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Milton — 2 killed, $25,000 damage.
April 11, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Milton — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
May 26, 2010: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Milton — 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 Milton's ZIP code 05468 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $480,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2011, with 12. 38% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 43 Vermont cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 21 have fewer than Milton.
Chittenden County, which includes Milton, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 10 floods, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on August 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chittenden County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $40.1 million a year, the highest of 14 Vermont counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.8 million (72%), is from inland flooding.
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).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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 Milton
- Fairfax, VT6 mi
- Colchester, VT8 mi
- Grand Isle, VT10 mi
- Essex Junction, VT10 mi
- Winooski, VT10 mi
- Saint Albans, VT12 mi
- Burlington, VT12 mi
- Underhill, VT12 mi
- South Burlington, VT13 mi
- Jericho, VT14 mi
- Williston, VT14 mi
- Jeffersonville, VT15 mi
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