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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watertown, CT

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

49 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Watertown, Connecticut since 1851, 10 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 59 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
10

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
39

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
59

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

1 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Watertown

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Watertown, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 271 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 2258 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 964 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 471 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 864 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2820 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 734 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1724 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1320 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2710 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2464 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1011 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2259 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2813 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 118 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1530 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1243 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3015 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1963 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3161 miCategory 3 (114 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 123 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1568 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2110 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 922 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1960 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3018 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1749 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 41 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3062 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1572 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1654 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 156 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2451 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1041 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2940 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2421 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1244 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 225 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2453 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2373 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 567 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3012 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2633 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 874 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3039 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1929 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 360 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 289 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1660 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 2

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Watertown: 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 Watertown

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s13
  • 2000s10
  • 1990s8
  • 1980s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s2
Strongest tornadoes near Watertown, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 10, 1989F419 mi3 mi0 / 40
May 24, 1962F34 mi11.6 mi1 / 50
Jul 29, 1971F35 mi0.1 mi0 / 2
Jun 23, 2001F213 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 10, 1989F210 mi10 mi0 / 4
Jul 10, 1989F2in town5 mi0 / 70
Jul 5, 1984F210 mi3 mi0 / 0
Sep 18, 1973F211 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 31, 1973F222 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 12, 1973F2in town1.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 18, 1962F211 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Oct 24, 1955F28 mi0.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 59, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Watertown while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Connecticut