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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Norwich, 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

57 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Norwich, Connecticut since 1851, 11 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 20 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
11

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
46

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
20

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Norwich

The strongest storm to pass near Norwich was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 3 hurricane with 114 mph winds when its centre passed 21 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1858, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Norwich begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 49 miles away. The 1880s and the 1960s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 57 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Norwich has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 53% of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site. The strongest of the 20 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on August 21, 1951; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 20, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 10 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on September 13, 2023. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 91% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Norwich. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1991, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Norwich.

Compare Norwich's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Norwich

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Norwich, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 249 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 221 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 920 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 821 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2873 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 76 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 427 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2004HermineAug 3159 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1724 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996JosephineOct 966 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1996BerthaJul 1322 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1991BobAug 1933 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2744 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2456 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1042 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 3
1971DoriaAug 2863 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1147 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1966AlmaJun 1459 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1518 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 127 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3034 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1152 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1948 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 317 miCategory 3 (113 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 263 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1524 miCategory 2 (99 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2144 miCategory 3 (110 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 925 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 2032 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3070 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1969 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2144 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 172 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 525 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1913Unnamed 1913 stormOct 266 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3010 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3045 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1533 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 168 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 242 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 1073 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 109 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2475 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2567 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1265 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 123 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2219 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2443 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1952 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 536 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3033 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 272 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 821 miCategory 3 (114 mph)Category 3
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 313 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2841 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 166 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1921 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s5
  • 1990s4
  • 1980s1
  • 1970s2
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s1(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Norwich, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 21, 1951F323 mi0.1 mi0 / 8
Sep 13, 2023EF123 mi1.61 mi0 / 0
Aug 18, 2023EF111 mi2.7 mi0 / 0
Nov 13, 2021EF116 mi1.36 mi0 / 0
Sep 4, 2019EF122 mi3.2 mi0 / 0
Oct 29, 2018EF118 mi1.96 mi0 / 0
Jul 10, 2013EF118 mi10.87 mi0 / 0
Jun 30, 1998F121 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jul 14, 1992F115 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1974F122 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 18, 1973F122 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 17, 1968F121 mi2.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 20, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Norwich

The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Norwich since 1991, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently May 25, 2014. The most recent report is from May 23, 2024. May has the most reports, 9.

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

Radar-estimated hail days in Norwich since 2019 →

Weather by month in Norwich

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Norwich Public Utility Plt, CT, in Norwich at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 21°F. March is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and May and July the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 52.3 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 52.3 inches). September has brought the most of the 57 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (23); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 4.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 27.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 52.3 inches is more than at 20 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (74%). Gales Ferry, 7 miles south, has its own station (Groton, CT): 48.9 inches a year, 3.4 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 84°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station New London, CT, 11 miles south, 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, 11 miles from Norwich, 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 Norwich Public Utility Plt, CT
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan38213.979.041
Feb41233.867.139
Mar48295.175.043
Apr59394.770.849
May70493.670.056
Jun78594.360.064
Jul84653.660.071
Aug83634.460.071
Sep76554.860.070
Oct64444.960.063
Nov53344.260.355
Dec43275.075.646
Year614252.37827.856

Averages for 1991–2020 at Norwich Public Utility Plt, CT (20 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 Norwich

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 104 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Norwich: 59 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 18 floods and 6 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 2, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 10 of 21. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 72 have had fewer than Norwich.

  • June 25, 2012: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Norwich — 11 injured.

  • March 30, 2010: flood 2 miles from the centre of Norwich — 1 injured, $1.1 million damage.

  • July 23, 2008: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Norwich — 1 injured.

    NWS: “A contractor at Norwich Housing Authority was struck by lightning. The unidentified man was outside behind a building when he or something near him was struck.”

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 Norwich's ZIP code 06360 have filed 213 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1982: 92 claims (43% of all) and $712,000, then March 2010 Nor'easter in 2010 with 30. 61% 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, 100 have fewer than Norwich.

Flood insurance claims in Norwich by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Not a named storm198292$712,000
March 2010 Nor'easter201030$904,000

New London County, which includes Norwich, 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 Norwich