Windham County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Windham County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 28, 2011Tropical Storm, Windham$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and branches were downed in Moosup (Lake Street) and Plainfield (Route 12, Major and Gendron Roads, Huntington Estates). An amateur radio operator recorded gusts to 57 knots (66 mph) on their home weather station in Thompson. The Automated Surface Observing System at Windham Airport (KIJD) recorded sustained wind speeds of 24 knots (28 mph) and gusts to 44 knots (51 mph).

2. Dec 7, 1996Heavy Snow, Windham$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system centered over Georgia at 7 AM on December 7th moved rapidly northeast across North Carolina. The intensifying system then moved about parallel to the Mid-Atlantic coast with its center reaching Plymouth County in southeastern Massachusetts during the early morning hours on December 8th. This storm brought heavy, wet snow and resulted in widespread power outages. There had been another heavy, wet snow event the day before, too. A total of 225,000 electric customers lost power statewide, including 100,000 in central Connecticut and 95,000 in the eastern part of the state. Power remained out for several days, despite the efforts of dozens of electric company…

3. Oct 15, 2005Flood, Windham$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system interacted with a plume of tropical moisture as the low slowly moved parallel to the Long Island and south Massachusetts coasts, resulting in excessive rain and flooding across north central and northeast Connecticut. Between approximately 4 and 8.5 inches of rain fell across the region. The county of Hartford was the hardest hit by this flood event, with much of the damage concentrated in the town of West Hartford.In Hartford county, most of the damages were confined to basement flooding, with over 1 foot of water reported in these flooded basements. One home was destroyed as a result of a basement wall collapse. In addition, Interstate 91 in Windsor…

4. Aug 4, 2020Tropical Storm, Windham$562,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   From mainly 3 PM EDT to 6 PM EDT, scattered tree damage occurred in Windham County. The majority of damage went unreported. However, we did receive a report of a tree down blocking Route 198 in Chaplin at 6 PM EDT. At 452 PM EDT, the ASOS at the Windham Airport (KIJD) recorded a wind gust to 53 mph (46 kt). Municipal damage claims were approximately $532,000 and uninsured home/small business claims were near $30,000. That does not count individual homeowners' insurance deductibles, etc.

5. Feb 1, 2011Winter Storm, Windham$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A total of 6 inches of snow fell across Windham County over the two day period. Damage amounts are for the roof collapses of some 28 structures that occurred following heavy snowfall that totaled 86.4 inches by the end of the snow season. Most of this snow fell from December 26 through February 2 and most roof collapses occurred during or shortly after the February 1 and 2 snow storm.

6. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Windham$438,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An amateur radio operator recorded a wind gust of 61 mph on their home weather station in Thompson. The Automated Surface Observing System at Windham Airport in Willimantic (KIJD) recorded sustained wind speeds of 38 mph and gusts to 53 mph. A 32 inch diameter tree was downed in Pomfret, blocking a road.

7. Aug 12, 2016Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Killingly, the intersection of Mechanic Street and Westfield Avenue was flooded and impassable. Two cars were stuck in flood waters at the Interstate 395 and Route 6 interchange. The Interstate 395 connector (Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike) from Route 6 on the CT/RI border was closed due to flooding. Several cars became stuck on the turnpike because of the closure. In Danielson, an apartment complex on Cottage Street was flooded, resulting in an evacuation of all residents. Finally, five cars were stuck in flood waters on West Road or Route 97 in Pomfret.

8. Jul 26, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and wires in the Pleasant Street area were downed by thunderstorm winds. A few of these trees fell on houses. Trees and branches also were reported down on Route 6 and Riverside Drive. A rubber membrane roof was blown off an apartment house landing on Bridge Street. A tree fell onto a minivan on Windham Center Road. No one was injured, but one passenger was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

9. Jan 18, 2006High Wind, Windham$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intensifying low pressure system moved across the Great Lakes and into Quebec, producing strong damaging winds across north central and northeast Connecticut on 18 January 2006. These strong winds brought down numerous trees, limbs, and wires across the region, and they were accompanied by heavy rain showers. In addition, many electric customers lost power during the storm.Sustained wind speeds reached 44 MPH in Hartford at 9:37 AM and 36 MPH in Willimantic at 11:33 AM. In addition, winds gusts to as high as 58 MPH in Hartford and Windham counties. The storm brought down trees and wires on the corner of Orhard Hill Drive and Foster Street in South Windsor. Also, trees and wires…

10. Feb 14, 2018Winter Weather, Windham$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    At 656 AM EST, a multiple vehicle accident was reported on Hampden Road in Chaplin. At 702 AM EST, several accidents due to icing were reported in Willimantic with some roads closed.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

101°FJul 6, 1919

All-time low

−20°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

81°FAug 6, 1989

Coldest day

−5°FJan 1, 1918

Wettest day

6.21 inSep 21, 1938

Snowiest day

26.0 inFeb 9, 2013

Hottest year

2012mean 51.4°F

Coldest year

1904mean 44.9°F

Wettest year

193866.31 in

Driest year

190623.86 in

Snowiest season

74.0 in2014-15

Station Storrs (USC00068138), 665 ft elevation, 12.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1888 to October 27, 2026; 90.3% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00068138.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.