NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waterbury Center, 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
13 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waterbury Center, Vermont since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 12
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Waterbury Center
The strongest storm to pass near Waterbury Center was Carol in 1954, a Category 1 hurricane with 79 mph winds when its centre passed 74 miles away. The record near Waterbury Center begins with an unnamed storm in 1866; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 10 miles away. Of the 13 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 75 Vermont cities on this site, 36% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Waterbury Center. The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 8, 1983, 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 has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on August 3, 2010. Waterbury Center has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 45% of the 75 Vermont cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 21 times since 1983, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 75 Vermont cities, 79% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waterbury Center.
Compare Waterbury Center's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waterbury Center
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 5 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1954 | CarolAug 31 | 74 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 22 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waterbury Center: 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 Waterbury Center
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s4
- 1980s3
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 1983 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF1 | 22 mi | 2.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2009 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2008 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1973 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1973 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 2010 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2009 | EF0 | 23 mi | 2.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2008 | EF0 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1987 | F0 | 18 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1986 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waterbury Center
The Storm Prediction Center has 21 hail reports within 10 miles of Waterbury Center since 1983, made on 15 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 9, 2007. The most recent report is from August 4, 2015. June has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waterbury Center
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Worcester 2 W, VT, 7 miles east of Waterbury Center at 1,360 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 100 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (25.4 of 46.4 inches); the other six months are drier. August has brought the most of the 13 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal August there has highs of 75°F and 4.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. Lows fall below freezing on about 165 nights a year. Snowfall averages 125.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 46.4 inches is more than at 25 of the 33 Vermont stations used on this site (76%). Stowe, 7 miles north, has its own station (Morrisville Stowe State Airport, VT): 35.6 inches a year, 10.8 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 77°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 3.2 | 8 | 27.0 |
| Feb | 29 | 10 | 2.8 | 7 | 28.5 |
| Mar | 38 | 19 | 3.1 | 8 | 21.0 |
| Apr | 51 | 32 | 3.7 | 9 | 8.0 |
| May | 65 | 44 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.8 |
| Jun | 72 | 53 | 4.9 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 77 | 58 | 4.8 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 75 | 56 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 68 | 48 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 38 | 4.3 | 9 | 2.1 |
| Nov | 42 | 28 | 3.6 | 8 | 10.4 |
| Dec | 31 | 17 | 3.9 | 10 | 27.8 |
| Year | 52 | 34 | 46.4 | 100 | 125.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Worcester 2 W, VT (1,360 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 Waterbury Center
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 83 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waterbury Center: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 8 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $78.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 19, 2013. July has had the most flash floods, 6 of 18. Of the 74 Vermont cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 61 have had fewer than Waterbury Center.
August 28, 2011: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Waterbury Center — $62.5 million damage.
NWS: “Severe todevastating flash flooding occurred across much of Washington county, especially in the foothills of the Green Mountains.”
May 26, 2011: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Waterbury Center — $5.0 million damage.
August 28, 2011: flood 4 miles from the centre of Waterbury Center — $3.5 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
Washington County, which includes Waterbury Center, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 28 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 severe storms, 13 floods, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on August 20, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 14 Vermont counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.6 million (79%), 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.