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Connecticut's Tornado History

Tornadoes aren't as rare in Connecticut as you may think.

2011 may go down in the record books as being one of the most active and devastating years for tornadoes in American history. Twister devastation in Missouri and Alabama this year has been widespread. Locally, the tornado that struck the Springfield, Mass., area recently killed at least three people and caused millions of dollars in property damage. Multiple reports of suspected tornado activity have been common in Connecticut in recent weeks.

Though Connecticut is ranked 43rd out of the 50 states in terms of tornado frequency, dozens of verified tornadoes have struck Connecticut since 1950. The vast majority of these storms have been classified on the lower end of the Fujita Scale as F1 or F2 tornadoes. The most intense in the last 100 years was the F4 that struck Windsor Locks on October 3, 1979 (see photo).

The first recorded tornado in Connecticut occurred 363 years ago this week on June 14, 1648. It was described briefly as a “great tempest” that blew down many trees in Hartford County. The second recorded tornado in Connecticut history occurred on June 20, 1682, in southwestern Connecticut near modern day Shelton. A one-half mile swath was cut in a forest, and there “was scarce a tree left standing.” Thomas P. Grazulis, in his 1993 book entitled Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 details another mid-June Connecticut tornado on June 19, 1794. This twister affected parts of Milford, Branford, and New Milford, where a large tree was reportedly seen flying upright and a barn door was found over 10 miles from its source.

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From the first recorded sighting of a tornado in Connecticut in 1648 to the year 1850, 20 recorded tornadoes occurred. The language used to describe the tornadoes was decidedly unscientific. Phrases such as “severe tempest” were common. No Fujita Scale with specific criteria existed then. Undoubtedly, many other tornadoes occurred in Connecticut but were not observed or, if observed, the diaries or letters referencing the storms have yet to be recovered. The worst recorded tornado in this time period was the famous “Four State Tornado Swarm” of August 15, 1787. This series of tornadoes affected Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The towns most affected by the swarm were New Britain, Wethersfield, Bolton, Coventry, Killingly, Newington, East Windsor, and Glastonbury. In fact, a mother and two of her children in Wethersfield were killed, and according to David M. Ludlum’s 1970 study of Early American Tornadoes, the Connecticut Courant (now the Hartford Courant) reported the incident. Judging from the severity of the devastation wrought by the outbreak, this storm would probably have been classified as an F4. A total of 5 recorded fatalities occurred during this period.

From 1850-1949, 21 recorded tornadoes occurred in Connecticut. The most destructive tornado swarm in Connecticut history occurred during this period on August 9, 1878. On that date, at least three tornadoes touched down in the state. One tornado touched down in the Durham-Killingworth area, damaging buildings, injuring several, but killing nobody. Another touched down near South Kent in Litchfield County with the same results. The third tornado, however, was by far the deadliest in Connecticut history: the Great Wallingford Tornado. The Wallingford tornado killed at least 34 people—31 more than the next deadliest tornado in Connecticut history. In fact, the sum total of all other tornado deaths in Connecticut history—14—is not even close to the tally of the Wallingford tornado alone. One victim was found more than one-half mile from where he had been standing. Structural damage was widespread, including the loss of the town’s new high school. There were two other known deaths from tornadoes during this era—one in Huntington in 1901 and one in the Guilford-Hamden corridor in 1920. The 36 total deaths from this one era constitute 67 percent of all the tornado deaths in Connecticut history.

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The north-central Connecticut area experienced six recorded tornadoes during the 19th century. Four of those storms occurred in July and August – the two most likely months for tornadoes in Connecticut. The first tornado recorded in this area occurred on June 30, 1808. It touched down in Windsor, crossed the river and headed toward Coventry. There was one fatality with this storm and much property damage. 1808 was an active year for tornadoes in the north-central area, as two more touched down in July of that year within six days of each other. The first hit on July 16, 1808, in Somers. There were no fatalities but considerable property damage. Six days later on July 22, 1808, a twister hit East Windsor and traveled over to Bolton before dissipating. Once again, there were no fatalities, only property damage.The next twister to hit this region occurred on August 9, 1851, and traveled from Suffield southeasterly to Windsor before dissipating. Another tornado hit Suffield on May 29, 1880, and crossed the river to the Thompsonville part of Enfield, killing nobody but damaging property.

The final twister to hit in the 19th century struck Windsor on August 25, 1885, and moved toward Bloomfield before breaking up. The odd thing about this tornado was the fact that it moved from east to west – an atypical track for a tornado in Connecticut. From 1954 until 2007, nine tornadoes have hit the north-central region. Since the Fujita Scale began classifying tornadoes in 1950, all of these have F-ratings. An F3 hit the Windsorville section of Windsor on May 10, 1954; no fatalities were reported. An F2 struck Willington on September 7, 1958, damaging much property and injuring two people. An F1 struck western Tolland County on April 26, 1961; no injuries or fatalities noted. The most interesting aspect of this tornado is that it is the earliest known date for any tornado to strike Connecticut. An F2 hit north Tolland County on August 19, 1965. Almost three years later on August 17, 1965, another F1 struck south Tolland County, damaging property only. An F2 struck Manchester, Talcottville, and Vernon on September 6, 1973, killing nobody but causing some minor injuries and damaging property.The next regional twister was one of the biggest in Connecticut history, an F4 that killed three, destroyed over 100 homes, and did millions of dollars of property damage in the Windsor, Windsor Locks, Suffield area. Prior to this spring's outbreak, it was ranked as the 6th largest in terms of property damage in the country. This, of course, was the  October 3, 1979, storm that also wrecked the New England Air Museum at Bradley Field. August 16, 2000, saw an F1 touch down in Ellington, damage a barn, and toss some trailers into the air. The most recent tornado hit on May 28, 2007, in the Somers area, where it damaged a barn and little else. It was ranked an EF0 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale that appeared for the first time that year.

From 1950 to 2010, there have been at least 69 tornadoes that have hit Connecticut. Since the Fujita Scale for measuring the intensity and destructiveness of tornadoes was developed in 1950, all of the tornadoes during this period can be classified on that scale. The vast majority of these storms fall within the F1 to F2 range; however, the October 3rd tornado of 1979 that hit Windsor Locks was an F4 and killed three people—the second deadliest in Connecticut history. The other fatality during this era occurred on May 24, 1962, in the Southington area, where an F3 killed one person and caused extensive structural damage. The sheer frequency of tornadoes in the last 50-60 years is much greater than previous eras. That could be explained by more sophisticated methods of detecting storms through advances in radar, more witnesses available to see these storms, or by global warming trends or some combination of these factors.

As far as the geography of Connecticut is concerned, the county-by-county breakdown of tornado occurrence appears below, ranked in order of most frequent to least frequent (see photo of counties):

Hartford County: 31

Litchfield County: 28

New Haven County: 21

Fairfield County: 19

Tolland County: 12

Windham County: 11

Middlesex County: 9

New London County: 4

As far as fatalities from tornadoes is concerned, New Haven County leads the way with 36; Hartford County is second with eight known fatalities; Litchfield County has had two known fatalities, and both Fairfield and Windham counties have had one each. Neither Middlesex nor New London counties has ever had a known fatality directly related to a tornado. (Note that both of these counties have had the fewest recorded tornadoes in Connecticut history.)

Etymologically, “tornado” is derived ultimately from the Latin verb “tornare” meaning “to thunder.” Through Latin, it has an obvious connection to the Spanish word “tronada” meaning “thunderstorm” and the Spanish verb “tornar” meaning “to turn.” These most violent of all of nature’s storms have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. They are especially prevalent in North America, particularly in the Midwest part of the United States, where warm Caribbean air often collides with colder Canadian air. This area is known as “Tornado Alley.” Parts of “Tornado Alley” actually have more tornadoes in one year than Connecticut has had in its entire history. The recent tornado in the Springfield area reminds Connecticut residents that tornadoes do occasionally affect our area and can be very destructive; nevertheless, residents of Connecticut—particularly in Middlesex and New London counties—have suffered very little loss compared to many other areas of the United States. Thank you, Long Island Sound!

Notes, Sources, and Links:

  1. The two best books on the subject have a wealth of information on tornadoes in the U.S. They are Thomas Grazulis’s book Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (1993) and David M. Ludlum’s book Early American Tornadoes 1586-1870 (1970).
  2. The top 5 states for frequency of tornadoes per year is as follows: 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3. Florida 4. Kansas 5. Nebraska.
  3. tornadoproject.com
  4. To see a photo gallery of the worst recent tornado damage in Connecticut history in Windsor Locks, click on this link: http://www.wlfd.com/mediagallery/album.php?aid=79&page=1
  5. To see a thorough explanation of the Fujita Scale, click on this link: http://www.tornadoproject.com/fscale/fscale.htm
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