Litchfield County, Connecticut severe weather history spans 915 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 60.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #194 nationally and #1 in Connecticut.
915
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
52
Direct injuries
$57.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Litchfield County, Connecticut severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Litchfield County, Connecticut severe weather history averages 12.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 296 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 854 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Litchfield County, Connecticut record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $51.2M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Litchfield County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 555 | 1 | $1.1M | 87 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 164 | 0 | $28K | 2 | 1962–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 91 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 41 | 1 | $1.4M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $51.2M | F2 | 1951–2024 |
| Lightning | 19 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
Decade by decade
Litchfield County, Connecticut severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 38 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-10 | EF2 | 0 | 70 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-10 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-21 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 43.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Litchfield County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 10 | $0 | |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flood | HOTCHKISSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 21, 1951 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| Jul 10, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 21, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | LANESVILLE | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 6, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | TACONIC | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 25, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | LAKEVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A lightning strike during an early morning thunderstorm struck a home. The lightning initially hit a nearby tree, with the strike traveling through a trench and into an addition on the home. A fire occurred, damaging much of the home.
A lightning strike started a fire at a home on Weed Road in Torrington during a thunderstorm. Although firefighters were initially hampered due to the ongoing thunderstorm, they were able to contain the fire to the attic on the front side of the house. They had the fire under control within in an hour and a half. The family was able to go back into the home once the fire was put out.
Heavy rainfall led to the water buildup of a clogged drain, resulting in the roof collapse of a Big Value Supermarket in Bantam at approximately 2130 LST.||The flat roof collapsed as a main support beam snapped from the weight of water collected on the roof. Preliminary damage estimates were over $100,000.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
31
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 20, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Aug 21, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM |
| Oct 30, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HENRI | EM |
| Jan 12, 2021 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| Aug 6, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Litchfield County, Connecticut?
915 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $57.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Litchfield County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 555 recorded events — 60.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Litchfield County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 38 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Litchfield County?
31 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Litchfield County, each tied to a specific incident period.
Where does the Litchfield County, Connecticut severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Hartford County 806
- Middlesex County 231
- Fairfield County 816
- New Haven County 641
- New London County 355
- Tolland County 327
Cite this page
“Litchfield County, Connecticut.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/connecticut/litchfield-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.