NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waterbury, 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
12 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waterbury, Vermont since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Isaias in 2020. Since 1950, 10 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 12
- Tornadoes
- 10
- 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
None of the 12 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waterbury; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1893, a tropical storm with 67 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Waterbury begins with an unnamed storm in 1866; the most recent system was Isaias in 2020, a tropical storm 8 miles away. Of the 12 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 75 Vermont cities on this site, 68% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Waterbury. The highest rating among the 10 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 8, 1983, came within 23 miles. Of the 10, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 3 each. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2009. Of the 75 Vermont cities, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waterbury. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 24 times since 1983, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 75 Vermont cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waterbury.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waterbury
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 5 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 22 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 49 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 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 13 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: 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
By decade
- 2000s4
- 1980s3
- 1970s2
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 1983 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1960 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2009 | EF1 | 23 mi | 0.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2008 | EF1 | 24 mi | 0.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1973 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1973 | F1 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2009 | EF0 | 23 mi | 2.71 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 2008 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1987 | F0 | 16 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1986 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 10 of 10, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waterbury
The Storm Prediction Center has 24 hail reports within 10 miles of Waterbury since 1983, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 18 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 3, 2015. July has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waterbury
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Worcester 2 W, VT, 10 miles east of Waterbury 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 12 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (5); 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, 9 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
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 80 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waterbury: 51 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 flash floods and 13 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $84.8 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, 5 of 16. Of the 74 Vermont cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 56 have had fewer than Waterbury.
August 28, 2011: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Waterbury — $62.5 million damage.
May 26, 2011: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Waterbury — $5.0 million damage.
August 28, 2011: flood 8 miles from the centre of Waterbury — $4.0 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Waterbury's ZIP code 05676 have filed 199 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $9.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 74 claims (37% of all) and $6.4 million, then Vermont/New York Flooding in 2023 with 72 and December Nor'easter in 2023 with 14. The year with the most claims was 2023, with 88. 81% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 43 Vermont cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 40 have fewer than Waterbury.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 74 | $6.4 million |
| Vermont/New York Flooding2023 | 72 | $2.1 million |
| December Nor'easter2023 | 14 | $301,000 |
Washington County, which includes Waterbury, 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.
Cities near Waterbury
- Waterbury Center, VT3 mi
- Stowe, VT9 mi
- Richmond, VT10 mi
- Montpelier, VT10 mi
- Waitsfield, VT12 mi
- Jericho, VT13 mi
- Northfield, VT15 mi
- Underhill, VT16 mi
- Hinesburg, VT16 mi
- Morrisville, VT16 mi
- Barre, VT17 mi
- Williston, VT18 mi
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