Fairfield County, Connecticut severe weather history spans 816 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #276 nationally and #2 in Connecticut.
816
Recorded events
12
Direct deaths
67
Direct injuries
$30.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Fairfield County, Connecticut severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fairfield County, Connecticut severe weather history averages 10.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 280 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 45 events fall before 1990 and 771 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fairfield County, Connecticut record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $14.8M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fairfield County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 459 | 6 | $5.5M | 87 | 1956–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 169 | 2 | $14.8M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 78 | 0 | $5K | 1.75 | 1961–2024 |
| Lightning | 37 | 1 | $230K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 | 2 | $7K | 0 | 1996–2010 |
| Flood | 24 | 0 | $4.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $5.6M | F2 | 1950–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2010 |
| High Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Fairfield County, Connecticut severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 10.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1950-07-14 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-10-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-08-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fairfield County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 20, 1997 | Heavy Rain | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | HUNTING RIDGE | 1 | 2 | $8K |
| May 8, 2010 | Lightning | BLACK ROCK | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| May 15, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | DANBURY | 1 | 1 | $5K |
| Aug 18, 2024 | Flash Flood | LYONS | 1 | 0 | $100K |
| Jul 17, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | BRIDGEPORT | 1 | 0 | $7K |
| Jun 30, 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | FAIRFIELD | 1 | 0 | $6K |
| May 15, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | NEW FAIRFIELD | 1 | 0 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A homeless man was swept down the Norwalk River from his home under the Cross Street Bridge. His body was found at 8:15 am Sunday morning off of Chimon Island, just outside Norwalk Harbor. The medical examiner determined the death was consistent with drowning with a boat propeller injury occurring after death.
Straight line winds in Bridgeport, in addition to the small EF1 Tornado, caused the collapse of 5 complete buildings, including one on Knowlton Street, with damage to 9 other buildings. The winds, estimated at 100 mph also blew a billboard off an apartment building, blew out windows and off bricks from buildings, flipped over a tractor trailer on I-95 between exits 27 and 28, flipped over cars on Route 25 between exits 3 and 4, and tore some siding of off the City Hall Annex. It also tore down radio towers, brought down hundreds of trees, including 2 on a house on Bond Street, and across Route 25 between exits 3 and 4. 57 streets were at least partially closed due to the wind damage. Around two dozen people were displaced by the storm. Note damage estimate includes damage from the tornado, as the total is hard to separate.
An NWS Storm Survey determined that an EF-1 Tornado, with maximum winds of 110 mph, impacted a small portion of Bridgeport. The survey found many signs of wind rotation in a highly localized area just north of Interstate 95. The area was bounded by the Interstate 95 northbound connector on the west and Pembroke Street on the east. The most severe damage was concentrated along East Main Street between Nichols Street on the south and Cedar Street on the North. In this area, windows were blown in, the facade of a building was stripped off, tree tops were sheared off, and large pieces of metal blown off from surrounding structures were wrapped around a fire hydrant. Eyewitness reports described a rain wrapped tornado with visibility near zero in swirling heavy rain and debris. Note the damage estimate is just a portion of the total damage to Bridgeport.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
33
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 Fairfield County, Connecticut?
816 events are on record between 1950 and 2025, causing 12 direct deaths and $30.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fairfield County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 459 recorded events — 56.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fairfield County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fairfield County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fairfield County, each tied to a specific incident period.
Where does the Fairfield 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
- Litchfield County 915
- Middlesex County 231
- New Haven County 641
- New London County 355
- Tolland County 327
Cite this page
“Fairfield County, Connecticut.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/connecticut/fairfield-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.