Tolland County, Connecticut severe weather history spans 327 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,625 nationally and #6 in Connecticut.
327
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$2.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Tolland County, Connecticut severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Tolland County, Connecticut severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 97 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 20 events fall before 1990 and 307 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.1M 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 Tolland County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 212 | 0 | $1.1M | 74 | 1960–2025 |
| Hail | 61 | 0 | $200K | 2.75 | 1959–2024 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $521K | F3 | 1951–2021 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $115K | 0 | 2005–2025 |
| Flood | 10 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2008–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $115K | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2023 |
Decade by decade
Tolland County, Connecticut severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-08-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-09-07 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-09-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-07-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Tolland County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 2011 | Flood | SOMERSVILLE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 10, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Lightning | SADDS MILL | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2016 | Lightning | QUARRYVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 15, 2012 | Lightning | MANSFIELD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 2012 | Lightning | HERBRON | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
In Vernon, the Hockanum River overflowed a roadway connecting Hartford Turnpike to the Colonial Corners shopping plaza, a motel, and a few other businesses. A significant amount of damage was done to the area parking lot. The motel guests were trapped by flood waters. Local officials created an egress onto I-84 to evacuate people from the motel. Other flooding was reported on Burke Road in Vernon. A CoCoRaHS observer in Vernon recorded 4.95 inches of rain for the two-day total from Henri. In nearby Hebron, 5.62 inches was recorded by a CoCoRaHS observer.
The NWS survey team found a discontinuous damage path approximately eleven miles long and 100 yards wide that extended from Andover to Mansfield, Connecticut. Most of the damage was to trees. Trees were both uprooted and in other parts of the path tops were snapped off the trees. The only structural damage was to a sheet metal barn that was torn apart.
In Coventry, a short-lived tornado touched down near the intersection of South Street and Pucker Street, downing several large trees in a field. It had a discontinuous path as it traveled to the east-northeast across a wooded area, where it created pockets of tree damage. It then touched down again just north of the intersection of Flanders Road and Nathan Hale Drive, where it damaged power lines and then moved through another wooded area. At least 50 trees were damaged in this area, with many having their tops sheared off. More than a dozen trees were blown down. It appears that the tornado dissipated quickly after that, since no other significant damage was observed farther to the northeast. No homes in the area had any damage. Two residents reported hearing the tornado warning, moving to safety in their basement, and then about 15 minutes later hearing a loud wind that lasted just moments. The tornado is estimated to have been on the ground no more than 90 seconds.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2021 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HENRI | EM |
| Jan 12, 2021 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| Aug 6, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | EM |
| Mar 28, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Apr 8, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Tolland County, Connecticut?
327 events are on record between 1951 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Tolland County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 212 recorded events — 64.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Tolland County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Tolland County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Tolland County, each tied to a specific incident period.
Where does the Tolland 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
- New London County 355
- Windham County 290
- New Haven County 641
- Middlesex County 231
- Litchfield County 915
- Hartford County 806
Cite this page
“Tolland County, Connecticut.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/connecticut/tolland-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.