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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit North Branford, 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 North Branford, Connecticut since 1851, 12 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
12

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
42

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
31

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

1 deaths in all

What the records show for North Branford

The strongest storm to pass near North Branford was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds when its centre passed 7 miles away. The record near North Branford begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 47 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. North Branford has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 77% of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site. The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 10, 1989; its path came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 24, 1962, killed 1 person. Of the 31, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on November 13, 2021. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 76% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than North Branford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 14 times since 1963, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than North Branford.

Compare North Branford's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near North Branford

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of North Branford, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 247 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 2226 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 938 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 838 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2843 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 78 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 452 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 172 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 137 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1991BobAug 1959 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2712 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2439 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1013 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2254 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2838 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1114 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 154 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1218 miCategory 1 (93 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3011 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1174 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1941 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3138 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 149 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1542 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 217 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 94 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1935 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3042 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2173 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1724 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 524 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3038 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3067 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1546 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1628 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2425 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1016 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2967 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2444 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1271 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1218 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2219 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2427 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1968 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 542 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3014 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 267 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 850 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3061 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1953 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 334 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2817 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1637 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1957 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 North Branford: 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 North Branford

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s5
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s7
  • 1980s4(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s4(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near North Branford, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 10, 1989F47 mi3 mi0 / 40
May 24, 1962F319 mi11.6 mi1 / 50
Jul 29, 1971F321 mi0.1 mi0 / 2
Aug 21, 1951F322 mi0.1 mi0 / 8
Jul 10, 1989F220 mi5 mi0 / 70
Sep 18, 1973F220 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 24, 1955F219 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 12, 1950F220 mi10 mi0 / 0
Aug 27, 2020EF13 mi11.1 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2018EF19 mi7.36 mi0 / 0
May 15, 2018EF120 mi3.67 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 2010EF124 mi0.16 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in North Branford

The Storm Prediction Center has 14 hail reports within 10 miles of North Branford since 1963, made on 10 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball 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 North Branford

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Haven Tweed Airport, CT, 8 miles southwest of North Branford 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%). Northford, 5 miles north, has its own station (Mt Carmel, CT): 50.5 inches a year, 8.7 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 82°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station New Haven, CT, 8 miles southwest, averaged 75°F in August and 37°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Bridgeport tide gauge, 24 miles from North Branford, 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 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 North Branford

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 133 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of North Branford: 97 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $413,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 27, 2020. September has had the most flash floods, 10 of 29. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 96 have had fewer than North Branford.

  • June 8, 2008: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of North Branford — 1 killed, 4 injured.

  • June 2, 2000: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of North Branford — 1 killed.

  • July 21, 2010: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of North Branford — 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 North Branford's ZIP code 06471 have filed 61 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $514,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1982: 17 claims (28% of all) and $45,000, then Flooding in 1992 with 13. The year with the most claims was 1996, with 17. 56% 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, 66 have fewer than North Branford.

Flood insurance claims in North Branford by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Not a named storm198217$45,000
Flooding199213$236,000

New Haven County, which includes North Branford, 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 North Branford