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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mystic, 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

58 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mystic, Connecticut since 1851, 13 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
13

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
45

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
12

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Mystic

The strongest storm to pass near Mystic was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Carol in 1954, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Mystic begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 36 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1960s, with 6 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 58 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Mystic has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 95% of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site. The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F1 or EF1, reached 7 times; the most recent, on August 18, 2023, came within 24 miles. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. June and August have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 96% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Mystic. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 21 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Mystic.

Compare Mystic's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mystic

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Mystic, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 236 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 225 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 99 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 89 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008HannaSep 718 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 417 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2006BerylJul 2175 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2004HermineAug 3153 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1735 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996JosephineOct 956 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1996BerthaJul 1334 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1991BobAug 1922 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2752 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2447 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1051 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1971DoriaAug 2873 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1154 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1966AlmaJun 1450 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1961EstherSep 2169 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 5
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1529 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1217 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3044 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1141 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1936 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954EdnaSep 1168 miCategory 2 (109 mph)Category 3
1954CarolAug 31overheadCategory 3 (114 mph)Category 3
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2172 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1513 miCategory 2 (100 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2148 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 936 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 2019 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1968 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2135 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1712 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 537 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1913Unnamed 1913 stormOct 256 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 30overheadTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3035 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1521 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 163 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 248 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 1070 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1019 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2556 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1252 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 129 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2232 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2437 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1940 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 523 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3044 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2711 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 812 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 33 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2851 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 162 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 2
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 2171 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1916 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s3
  • 1990s3
  • 1980s1
  • 1970s1
  • 1960s1
Strongest tornadoes near Mystic, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 18, 2023EF124 mi2.7 mi0 / 0
Nov 13, 2021EF17 mi1.36 mi0 / 0
Oct 29, 2018EF16 mi1.96 mi0 / 0
Jun 30, 1998F119 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jul 14, 1992F125 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1974F123 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 19, 1963F120 mi12.3 mi0 / 0
Nov 13, 2021EF024 mi6.13 mi0 / 0
Oct 29, 2018EF06 mi2.33 mi0 / 0
Aug 10, 2012EF024 mi3.83 mi0 / 0
Jun 30, 1998F025 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 1, 1983F025 mi0.2 mi0 / 0

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

Hail in Mystic

The Storm Prediction Center has 21 hail reports within 10 miles of Mystic since 1969, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 29, 1969. The most recent report is from August 15, 2024. May has the most reports, 6.

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

Weather by month in Mystic

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Groton, CT, 3 miles west of Mystic at 40 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 39°F and 24°F. March is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February and July the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 48.9 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (24.0 of 48.9 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 58 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (23); a normal September there has highs of 74°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 101 nights a year. Snowfall averages 24.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 48.9 inches is more than at 11 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (41%). Stonington, 3 miles east, has its own station (Westerly State Airport, RI): 42.9 inches a year, 6.0 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station New London, CT, 6 miles west, averaged 71°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the New London tide gauge, 6 miles from Mystic, 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 Groton, CT
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan39243.975.841
Feb41253.478.339
Mar47324.983.943
Apr57414.470.849
May66503.770.056
Jun75593.960.064
Jul81663.460.071
Aug80654.260.071
Sep74584.360.070
Oct63474.460.063
Nov53383.860.555
Dec44304.685.246
Year604448.98124.556

Averages for 1991–2020 at Groton, CT (40 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station New London, 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 Mystic

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 97 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mystic: 44 flash floods, 35 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 floods, 4 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on June 24, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 18 of 44. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 129 have had fewer than Mystic.

  • September 6, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Mystic — 1 killed, 2 injured, $15,000 damage.

  • August 4, 2015: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Mystic — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.

  • June 25, 2012: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Mystic — 11 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 Mystic's ZIP code 06355 have filed 258 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 105 claims (41% of all) and $2.7 million, then March 2010 Nor'easter in 2010 with 48 and Not a named storm in 1982 with 18. 74% 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, 105 have fewer than Mystic.

Flood insurance claims in Mystic by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Sandy2012105$2.7 million
March 2010 Nor'easter201048$382,000
Not a named storm198218$13,000

New London County, which includes Mystic, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 9 severe storms, 7 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on October 30, 2021.

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 Mystic