Connecticut high wind and dust storms

Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 8 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 630 high wind and dust records in Connecticut from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 19 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the October 29, 2012 high wind: 3 deaths and $4.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 8 records. Connecticut ranks 47th of 52 states and territories by count and 6th of 51 per square mile.

High wind and dust storms in Connecticut, 1996 to 2026

Wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

recorded, no damage figure
under $1 million
$1 million or more
$10 million or more
$100 million or more, or 10 deaths
$1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
a year with a death

Records: 6301996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 19average
Deaths: 1625 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $25Mas filed
Busiest year: 199648 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are high wind and dust records common in Connecticut?

Connecticut averages about 19 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 47th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1996 (48). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Connecticut records 1301 high wind and dust records since 1996, 6th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

When is the windy season in Connecticut?

Connecticut's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is December (108 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 83 · Feb 77 · Mar 91 · Apr 42 · May 12 · Jun 0 · Jul 1 · Aug 6 · Sep 34 · Oct 101 · Nov 75 · Dec 108 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Connecticut?

Connecticut: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2012-10-29	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Northern Fairfield One storm episode: 8 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster in Southeast New York. Tropical Storm Sandy formed in the Caribbean Sea on October 22. After drifting slowly southwest on October 23, Sandy turned to the north and intensified to a hurricane on October 24, just before making landfall in Jamaica. Hurricane ...	59 kt wind	3	0	$4.0M
1996-02-25	High WindHartford County · forecast zone Hartford A deep low pressure system over northern Maine combined with a strong high pressure area centered over South Carolina to produce a "tight pressure gradient" and a period of very powerful and damaging west to northwest winds. Two people were killed and three injured when a large tree was blown down and crushed their ...		2	3	$941K
2010-03-13	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield A wind gust to 58 mph was reported in Westport at 320 pm. At Bridgeport Sikorsky Airport, a wind gust of 60 mph was reported at 430 pm. The public reported a wind gust to 65 mph in Norwalk at 515 pm. There was widespread trees downed by the storm. Some towns that reported many trees down were Darien and Norwalk. There ...	50 kt wind	2	0	$1.4M
2012-10-29	High WindTolland County · forecast zone Tolland One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Sandy, a hybrid storm with both tropical and extra-tropical characteristics, brought high winds and coastal flooding to southern New England. Easterly winds gusted to 50 to 60 mph for interior southern New England; 55 to 65 mph along the eastern Massachusetts coast and along the I-95 corridor in southeast ...	50 kt wind	1	2	$2.7M
1996-10-19	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. On Friday October 18th, a strong low pressure system developed on a cold front over the DelMarVa Peninsula. With a high pressure system in place across Northern New England, the low intensified and moved slowly off the Southern New Jersey Coast on Saturday, the 19th.As the difference in pressures increased, strong and ...		1	2	$3.8M
2018-03-02	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield The ASOS at Bridgeport Sikorsky Airport measure a 62 mph wind gust at 1028 am. The Broadcast media reported one fatality due to a downed tree onto a car near the Stamford, Greenwich line at 335 pm. At 4 pm in the town of New Canaan, one person was injured from a downed tree onto a vehicle. At 530 pm, a portion of a ...	54 kt wind	1	2	$235K
1998-04-23	Strong WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Southern Middlesex A low pressure system that moved east of the area produced strong gusty winds and rain. Wind gusts from 40 to 50 mph and rain downed a large tree limb that fell on a moving car. The driver was killed and the passenger was injured as the car accelerated out-of-control.		1	1	–
2017-03-22	Strong WindHartford County · forecast zone Hartford At 751 AM EST a trained spotter estimated a wind gust to 50 mph. At 806 AM EST, a tree and wires fell on a school bus on Country Club Road in Avon. The school bus driver was killed. At 957 AM EST a tree, wires, and pole were down at the intersection of Circle and Pond Roads in Farmington.	43 kt wind	1	1	$8K
2009-12-29	High WindLitchfield County · forecast zone Southern Litchfield Tree fell on a postal vehicle on Weekeepeemee Road in Bethlehem Connecticut killing the driver.	50 kt wind	1	0	–
1996-09-28	Strong WindClinton Beach, Middlesex County Southwest gale force winds developed over Long Island Sound by afternoon in response to a strong slow retreating high pressure system offshore and an approaching cold front.A man drowned at sea after his 31-foot wood cabin cruiser broke up in rough seas in Long Island Sound near Clinton Harbor.		1	0	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest high wind and dust records in Connecticut

Connecticut: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Character	Killed	Injured	Damage
2012-10-29	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Northern Fairfield One storm episode: 8 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's.	59 kt wind	3	0	$4.0M
1996-10-19	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.		1	2	$3.8M
2012-10-29	High WindTolland County · forecast zone Tolland One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	50 kt wind	1	2	$2.7M
2010-03-13	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield	50 kt wind	2	0	$1.4M
1996-02-25	High WindHartford County · forecast zone Hartford		2	3	$941K
2010-09-30	Strong WindNew Haven County · forecast zone Northern New Haven	40 kt wind	0	0	$677K
2010-04-29	Strong WindHartford County · forecast zone Hartford	49 kt wind	0	0	$338K
2012-11-07	High WindNew London County · forecast zone Southern New London	52 kt wind	0	0	$257K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are high wind and dust records becoming more frequent in Connecticut?

Connecticut's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

High wind and dust storms: Connecticut and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Connecticut	United States	Connecticut's share
1996-99	136	14,026	0.97%
2000s	141	37,254	0.38%
2010s	223	41,748	0.53%
2020-26	130	36,300	0.36%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent high wind and dust records in Connecticut

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Character	Damage
2026-03-16	Strong WindLitchfield County · forecast zone Southern Litchfield	40 kt wind	–
2026-03-16	Strong WindLitchfield County · forecast zone Northern Litchfield	40 kt wind	–
2026-02-23	High WindNew London County · forecast zone Southern New London	59 kt wind	–
2026-02-23	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Northern Fairfield	51 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindNew London County · forecast zone Northern New London	50 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindNew London County · forecast zone Southern New London	58 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindMiddlesex County · forecast zone Northern Middlesex	55 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindNew Haven County · forecast zone Southern New Haven	56 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield	61 kt wind	–
2025-12-19	High WindWindham County · forecast zone Windham	56 kt wind	$9K
2025-12-19	High WindHartford County · forecast zone Hartford	52 kt wind	$4K
2025-10-30	High WindFairfield County · forecast zone Southern Fairfield	50 kt wind	–

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.