Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watertown, CT

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Burlington, CT, 16 miles northeast of Watertown at 505 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 17°F. October is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.4 inches; the year adds up to 53.5 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (28.9 of 53.5 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 49 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 75°F and 5.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 142 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 53.5 inches is more than at 24 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (89%). Oakville, 2 miles southeast, has its own station (Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT): 45.0 inches a year, 8.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 223 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Watertown: 158 thunderstorm wind reports, 44 flash floods, 10 lightning strikes, 9 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $9.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 9, 2011. August has had the most flash floods, 22 of 44. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 129 have had fewer than Watertown.

Flood insurance policyholders in Watertown's ZIP code 06795 have filed 49 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2011, with 17. 20% 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, 57 have fewer than Watertown.