Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit West Hartford, CT

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hartford Brainard Field, CT, 5 miles east of West Hartford at 19 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 20°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.6 inches; the year adds up to 42.9 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (22.9 of 42.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 51 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (22); a normal September there has highs of 76°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 121 nights a year. That 42.9 inches is more than at 2 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (7%). Bloomfield, 5 miles north, has its own station (Hartford Bradley International Airport, CT): 47.1 inches a year, 4.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 85°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 282 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of West Hartford: 184 thunderstorm wind reports, 50 flash floods, 38 floods and 10 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 9, and the NWS estimated $3.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on February 25, 2016. September has had the most flash floods, 17 of 50. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 145 have had fewer than West Hartford.

Flood insurance policyholders in West Hartford's 4 ZIP codes have filed 384 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Not a named storm in 1982: 101 claims (26% of all) and $235,000, then Flooding in 1992 with 11. The year with the most claims was 1979, with 112. 34% 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, 107 have fewer than West Hartford.