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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wolcott, CT

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

49 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wolcott, 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, 4 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
4

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Wolcott

The strongest storm to pass near Wolcott was an unnamed storm in 1869, a Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1938, whose centre came within 3 miles. The record near Wolcott begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 68 miles away. The 1860s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 49 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site, 47% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Wolcott. The strongest of the 59 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 10, 1989; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 24, 1962, killed 1 person. Of the 59, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 27 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on June 21, 2024. Wolcott has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 186 Connecticut cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 60 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Wolcott has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 186 Connecticut cities.

Compare Wolcott's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wolcott

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Wolcott, Connecticut, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 268 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021HenriAug 2251 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
2021ElsaJul 958 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 858 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2827 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 729 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 470 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1717 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1314 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 273 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2460 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 104 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2248 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2820 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11overheadTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1523 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1236 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 308 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1961 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954CarolAug 3154 miCategory 3 (114 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 129 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1562 miCategory 2 (102 mph)Category 5
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 213 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 915 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1956 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3025 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1742 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 53 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3055 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1566 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1648 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 163 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2444 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1034 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2946 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2428 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1239 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 221 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2448 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 562 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 306 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2628 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 867 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3047 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1936 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 354 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 282 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1652 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1969 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s12
  • 2000s9
  • 1990s7
  • 1980s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s10(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s3(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Wolcott, Connecticut
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 10, 1989F415 mi3 mi0 / 40
May 24, 1962F31 mi11.6 mi1 / 50
Jul 29, 1971F35 mi0.1 mi0 / 2
Aug 21, 1951F325 mi0.1 mi0 / 8
Jun 23, 2001F216 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jul 10, 1989F24 mi5 mi0 / 70
Jul 10, 1989F216 mi10 mi0 / 4
Jul 5, 1984F25 mi3 mi0 / 0
Sep 18, 1973F24 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 31, 1973F216 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jun 12, 1973F28 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 18, 1962F213 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

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

Hail in Wolcott

The Storm Prediction Center has 60 hail reports within 10 miles of Wolcott since 1960, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 1, 2012. The most recent report is from June 22, 2024. June has the most reports, 20.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Wolcott

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT, 10 miles southeast of Wolcott at 103 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 19°F. October is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 45.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (23.2 of 45.0 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 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. That 45.0 inches is more than at 6 of the 27 Connecticut stations used on this site (22%). Terryville, 6 miles north, has its own station (Burlington, CT): 53.5 inches a year, 8.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station New Haven, CT, 22 miles south, averaged 75°F in August and 37°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Bridgeport tide gauge, 31 miles from Wolcott, has risen 1.35 ± 0.08 inches per decade from 1964 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 13.5 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 81 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan37193.1539
Feb39202.9537
Mar48284.1641
Apr60384.1748
May70483.5757
Jun79574.1765
Jul84633.4674
Aug82613.5675
Sep75544.3572
Oct64424.5663
Nov52323.4653
Dec42254.1743
Year614045.07456

Averages for 1991–2020 at Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, CT (103 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station New Haven, CT, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Connecticut weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Wolcott

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 215 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wolcott: 154 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 flash floods, 16 floods, 8 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $9.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 31, 2009. September has had the most flash floods, 12 of 36. Of the 186 Connecticut cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 109 have had fewer than Wolcott.

  • August 28, 2011: flood 6 miles from the centre of Wolcott — 1 killed, $8.0 million damage.

  • April 23, 2006: flood 9 miles from the centre of Wolcott — 1 killed.

  • August 11, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Wolcott — 2 injured.

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 Wolcott's ZIP code 06716 have filed 39 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $216,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 31% 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, 51 have fewer than Wolcott.

New Haven County, which includes Wolcott, has been named in 36 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 hurricanes, 9 severe storms, 8 snowstorms, 3 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides, on September 20, 2024.

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).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Wolcott