Hartford County, Connecticut severe weather history spans 806 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #286 nationally and #3 in Connecticut.
806
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
533
Direct injuries
$281.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Hartford County, Connecticut severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hartford County, Connecticut severe weather history averages 11.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 230 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 742 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hartford County, Connecticut record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $261.7M 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 Hartford County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 433 | 0 | $9.1M | 87 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 166 | 0 | $129K | 2.75 | 1956–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 92 | 0 | $1.9M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 52 | 1 | $8.3M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Lightning | 31 | 0 | $352K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 18 | 3 | $261.7M | F4 | 1954–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2000 |
Decade by decade
Hartford County, Connecticut severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-10-03 | EF4 | 3 | 500 | 11.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-24 | EF3 | 1 | 50 | 11.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-07-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-08-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1951-08-21 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 43.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hartford County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3, 1979 | Tornado | 3 | 500 | $250.0M | |
| Aug 28, 2011 | Flood | BRISTOL | 1 | 0 | $8.0M |
| Sep 9, 2000 | Lightning | SOUTH WINDSOR | 0 | 12 | $5K |
| Jun 11, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | CANTON | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| May 24, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 29, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | SHERWOOD MANOR | 0 | 2 | $15K |
| Jul 15, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | FARMINGTON | 0 | 1 | $20K |
| Feb 11, 1996 | Lightning | BURLINGTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Four to ten inches of heavy rain from Tropical Storm Irene resulted in the Pequabuck River overflowing its banks. This led to flooding on roads and homes along the river throughout Bristol. Flooded roads ran approximately three and a half feet deep. A 46 year old man went canoeing in floodwaters. He drowned when his canoe capsized and he was unable to make it to shore. At least 50 people were evacuated from areas around the river, and took shelter at Chippens Hill Middle School. The river flooding undermined at least 7 feet of Route 72 eastbound, washing out this portion of the road. Numerous houses and businesses were affected by the flooding. Forty high water rescues took place in Bristol.
There was widespread, damaging flash flooding throughout Manchester. Fire officials evacuated 18 homes due to flash flooding. The Hartford Courant newspaper had a photo of a culvert collapse on Ambassador Drive, after Lydall Brook overflowed its banks. The culvert running under Ambassador Drive collapsed, destroying that secion of road. On Prospect Street, at least four first-floor condominiums at the Millbridge Hollow Condominium complex when the Hop Brook overflowed its banks. Floodwaters also entered the first floor of the Highland Park Elementary School when the Porter Brook overflowed its banks. At 356 PM EST, WFSB-TV showed a video of major flash flooding on Gerard Street, with first responders canoeing to the front door of a residence. Other streets with significant flooding included Lydall Street, Middle Turnpike East, and Route 83 near Vernon. A CoCoRaHS observer in Manchester recorded a total of 5.68 inches from Henri, the majority of which fell during the afternoon of August 22.
A brief tornado touchdown occurred on the east side of Rockwell Park and had an intermittent damage path, mostly at the tree top level, to the end of High Street. Straight line winds appeared to be the main cause of damage in Bristol, however, damage from a small, brief tornado was also evident. Trees felled in different directions, tree tops twisted off, and shearing off of tree tops were the nature of tree damage viewed by NWS Storm Survey team members in the area of High and Blakeslee Streets. This is consistent with low end EF1 tornado damage. Damage was consistent with a maximum wind speed of about 90 mph. Numerous trees were downed, bringing down wires and power lines, as well as moving a garage off its foundation, blowing lawn furniture several houses down the street, and crushing an above ground pool. The Imagine Nation Museum which was very near the damage path recorded a wind gust of 67 mph on their anemometer.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2024 | Fire | HAWTHORNE FIRE | FM |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Hartford 116
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hartford County, Connecticut?
806 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $281.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hartford County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 433 recorded events — 53.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hartford County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hartford County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hartford County, each tied to a specific incident period.
Where does the Hartford 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
- Fairfield County 816
- Litchfield County 915
- Middlesex County 231
- New Haven County 641
- New London County 355
- Tolland County 327
Cite this page
“Hartford County, Connecticut.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/connecticut/hartford-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.