NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Salisbury, 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
32 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Salisbury, Connecticut since 1851, 4 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 40 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 4
- Tropical storms
- 28
- Tornadoes
- 40
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Salisbury
The strongest storm to pass near Salisbury was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 2 hurricane with 99 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 2 miles. The record near Salisbury begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 44 miles away. Of the 32 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site, 99% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Salisbury. The highest rating among the 40 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 29, 1995, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on August 28, 1973, killed 4 people. Of the 40, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on June 21, 2024. Of the 186 Connecticut cities, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Salisbury. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1973, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Salisbury has more hail reports within 10 miles than 48% of the 186 Connecticut cities.
Compare Salisbury's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Salisbury
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 33 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 23 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 70 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 23 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 5 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 2 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 30 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Salisbury: 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 Salisbury
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s4
- 2000s3
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s3
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 1973 | F4 | 18 mi | 9.8 mi | 4 / 36 |
| May 29, 1995 | F4 | 13 mi | 11.5 mi | 3 / 24 |
| Jun 23, 2001 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | F2 | 15 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1995 | F2 | 14 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 10, 1989 | F2 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 30, 1976 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 1966 | F2 | 6 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1962 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1959 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1955 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 40, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Salisbury
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Salisbury since 1973, made on 22 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 15, 2018. The most recent report is from September 6, 2025. June has the most reports, 14.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Salisbury
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Falls Village, CT, 5 miles southeast of Salisbury at 550 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 14°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 47.0 inches over 82 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 57% of the year's precipitation (26.9 of 47.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 32 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. That 47.0 inches is more than at 7 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (26%). Canaan, 6 miles east, has its own station (Norfolk 2 SW, CT): 53.0 inches a year, 6.0 more than here, and a July average high of 78°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 14 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Feb | 39 | 15 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Mar | 47 | 23 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 60 | 33 | 3.4 | 7 |
| May | 72 | 44 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 53 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Jul | 85 | 58 | 4.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 57 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Sep | 76 | 49 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Oct | 63 | 38 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Nov | 51 | 29 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Dec | 40 | 20 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 36 | 47.0 | 82 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Falls Village, CT (550 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 Salisbury
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 187 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Salisbury: 158 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 8 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 21, 2010. July has had the most flash floods, 10 of 17. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 57 have had fewer than Salisbury.
July 25, 2025: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Salisbury — 1 injured.
September 6, 2025: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Salisbury — 1 injured.
NWS: “A tree fell onto a car injuring an occupant.”
April 21, 2015: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Salisbury — $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
Litchfield County, which includes Salisbury, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 8 severe storms, 7 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). 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 Salisbury
- Canaan, CT6 mi
- Millerton, NY6 mi
- Sheffield, MA7 mi
- Sharon, CT10 mi
- Pine Plains, NY13 mi
- Great Barrington, MA13 mi
- Amenia, NY13 mi
- Hillsdale, NY15 mi
- Goshen, CT15 mi
- Elizaville, NY19 mi
- Winsted, CT19 mi
- Clinton Corners, NY20 mi
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