NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Putney, 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
31 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Putney, Vermont since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 36 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 26
- Tornadoes
- 36
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Putney
The strongest storm to pass near Putney was Carol in 1954, a Category 2 hurricane with 96 mph winds when its centre passed 54 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gloria in 1985, whose centre came within 26 miles. The record near Putney begins with an unnamed storm in 1858; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 55 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems. Of the 31 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Putney has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 96% of the 75 Vermont cities on this site. The highest rating among the 36 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 20, 1968, came within 15 miles. Of the 36, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on June 23, 2024. Putney has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 75 Vermont cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 42 times since 1981, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Putney has more hail reports within 10 miles than 69% of the 75 Vermont cities.
Compare Putney's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Putney
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 14 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 26 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 54 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 2 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 28 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormOct 1 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 24 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1869 | Unnamed 1869 stormSep 8 | 73 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 16 | 62 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Putney: 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 Putney
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1990s2
- 1980s5
- 1970s3
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 1968 | F3 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 20, 1963 | F3 | 23 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2002 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1969 | F2 | 18 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 1966 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 13, 1963 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1962 | F2 | 17 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1962 | F2 | 20 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 1955 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | EF1 | 24 mi | 3.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2023 | EF1 | 13 mi | 12.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2022 | EF1 | 7 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 36, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Putney
The Storm Prediction Center has 42 hail reports within 10 miles of Putney since 1981, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 29, 2012. The most recent report is from August 5, 2024. May has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Putney
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Keene, NH, 11 miles southeast of Putney at 511 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 56°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. October is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.3 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (25.9 of 46.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 31 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 73°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 174 nights a year. Snowfall averages 59.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 46.3 inches is more than at 24 of the 33 Vermont stations used on this site (73%). Bellows Falls, 9 miles north, has its own station (N Springfield Lake, VT): 43.9 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 3.1 | 7 | 15.2 |
| Feb | 34 | 11 | 2.8 | 6 | 14.4 |
| Mar | 43 | 20 | 3.4 | 7 | 11.0 |
| Apr | 57 | 30 | 3.4 | 7 | 2.2 |
| May | 69 | 41 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 51 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 56 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 54 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 47 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 36 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 3.5 | 7 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 36 | 18 | 3.9 | 7 | 14.4 |
| Year | 57 | 33 | 46.3 | 85 | 59.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Keene, NH (511 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 Putney
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 166 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Putney: 118 thunderstorm wind reports, 32 flash floods, 15 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on February 17, 2006. June has had the most flash floods, 13 of 32. Of the 74 Vermont cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 73 have had fewer than Putney.
July 29, 2021: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Putney — 1 injured, $600,000 damage.
July 29, 2021: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Putney — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “The Town of Putney suffered major impact due to flash flooding. Numerous roads were closed throughout the town with Putney Mountain, Holland Hill, Pine Banks and River Road the hardest hit.”
July 29, 2021: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Putney — $1.0 million damage.
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
Windham County, which includes Putney, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 8 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm and Flooding, on March 2, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Windham County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $20.3 million a year, the 4th highest of 14 Vermont counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.7 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.