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Hail history in Connecticut

We counted the days with NOAA hail reports within 15 miles of the center of 5 Connecticut cities since 2010.

Brick mid-rise apartments and older commercial blocks under heavy grey clouds
Hail days near Hartford since 2010, the most in Connecticut
28
Largest hail reported, near Hartford
3.0 in
Connecticut cities tracked
5

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center

Data through November 1, 2026

Connecticut cities by hail days

Source: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center

Data through November 1, 2026

CityHail days since 2010Largest hail
Hartford283.0 in
Waterbury123.0 in
Bridgeport111.75 in
Norwich111.75 in
New Haven102.0 in

About this data

  • Each city counts reports within 15 miles of its center, not of any one property.
  • Reports come from trained spotters and the public, so they cluster near towns and roads.
  • No report does not mean no hail. Hail can fall where no one is there to report it.
  • This is not a damage or insurance assessment.

Storm risk in Connecticut

Hurricanes and the coastal flooding they bring are the storm risks that matter most for buildings in Connecticut, followed by nor'easters and heavy snow, then summer thunderstorm wind. Hail and tornadoes come less often than in the central US, but both still damage buildings here.2,3,4,5 NOAA counts 11 hurricane direct hits on Connecticut from 1851 to 2018, 2 of them major, against 120 for Florida and 64 for Texas. Rising seas have made high-tide flooding more frequent along the state's shore.2,3

How often storms hit Connecticut

Storm hazards for Connecticut buildings2,6,3,16,5,1,4,14
HazardHow oftenWhat it means for buildings
Hurricanes and tropical storms11 hurricane direct hits from 1851 to 2018: 7 Category 1, 2 Category 2 and 2 Category 3. The Atlantic season runs June 1 to November 30.Wind strips roof coverings, edge metal and rooftop equipment and drives rain inside. Surge and waves flood buildings along Long Island Sound, and tropical rain floods inland sites that rarely flood.
Coastal floodingSea levels rose about 7 inches from 1970 to 2020, and high-tide floods have become more frequent.Ground floors, basements, parking levels, elevator pits and electrical rooms near the shore flood first, in nor'easters as well as hurricanes.
Damaging thunderstorm windDamaging wind reports on an average of 32 days a year from 1980 to 2006 within 124 nautical miles of the New York City radar, an area that takes in Connecticut.Downbursts peel roof membranes and edge metal, topple rooftop units and drop trees onto buildings and parked cars.
Hail10 to 28 hail days since 2010 within 15 miles of each of the five Connecticut cities on this page, with hail up to 3 inches near Hartford and Waterbury. In the New York City radar area, 48 of 1,777 hail reports from 1980 to 2006 were 2 inches or larger.Most hail here is small, but larger stones crack skylights, dent metal roofs and siding and flatten the fins on rooftop units.
Tornadoes88 recorded from 1953 to 2010, an average of 2 a year.Even a weak tornado can strip roof coverings, break windows and drop trees on buildings along a narrow path.
Winter storms and coldSeasonal snowfall from less than 30 inches on the coast to more than 50 inches in the Northwest Hills, and an average of 4.4 nights a year at 0°F or below.FEMA says drifting snow, rain on snow and ice dams can load a roof past its design. Cold snaps freeze pipes and sprinkler lines in unheated spaces.

A hail day is a day since 2010 with at least one NOAA hail report within 15 miles of a city's center. It shows how often hail falls near a city, not whether it hit a given building, and because people make the reports, they cluster near towns and roads.1

The radar-area counts cover New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey as well as Connecticut, so they show how often damaging storms pass through the region, not a count for the state alone.5

Rules owners in Connecticut should know

  • Hurricane deductibles: a hurricane deductible may replace a policy's overall deductible only for a hurricane that brings sustained winds of 74 mph or more somewhere in the state. It can apply from when the National Hurricane Center issues a hurricane warning for any part of the state until 24 hours after the last warning ends or the storm is downgraded, whichever is earlier. The rule covers personal risk policies, condominium association master policies and unit owners' association property policies (Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-316a).7
  • Storm claim mediation: after a catastrophe for which the Governor declares a state of emergency, the Insurance Department may run a mediation program for open claims under those same personal, condominium master and unit owners' association policies. It covers disputes where the two sides are $5,000 or more apart on actual cash value or the amount of loss, but not NFIP flood claims or disputes over whether coverage exists. The insurer pays the mediation fee, and the insured may rescind a settlement within five business days unless a check under it has been cashed (Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-10a).8
  • FAIR Plan: the Connecticut FAIR Plan provides basic property insurance, as a last resort, for insurable property that can't get coverage in the normal market. Its commercial program takes apartment buildings of five or more units and mercantile and manufacturing risks, with basic named-peril cover at actual cash value, not replacement cost, and commercial deductibles from $500 to $75,000.9,17
  • Suit and payment deadlines: the Connecticut standard fire policy allows 24 months after the loss begins to file suit, and makes the loss payable 30 days after the insurer receives proof of loss and the amount is agreed in writing or set by an appraisal award. Policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2014 that cover fire along with other perils must carry both time periods without change (Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-307 and 38a-308).10,11
  • Actual cash value: the same standard policy defines a building's actual cash value as the cost to repair or replace it with material of like kind and quality, minus reasonable depreciation, and depreciation as a decrease in value over time due to wear and tear. Multi-peril policies must use these definitions too, except that a nonadmitted insurer's commercial property policy may define depreciation differently (Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-307 and 38a-308).10,11

Before the next storm

  • Hurricane deductible: find each building's wind or hurricane deductible on the declarations page before the season starts on June 1. The Insurance Department notes these are generally a percentage of the insured value, not a flat amount.16
  • Flood policy timing: allow 30 days for new flood coverage. FEMA says an NFIP policy typically takes effect 30 days after purchase.13
  • State alerts: register each property address with CT Alert, the state's emergency notification system. Online sign-up sends alerts by text, email, app or phone call for the addresses saved in a profile, while texting a ZIP code to 888-777 covers only that ZIP code.12
  • Roof edges: have low-slope roofs checked at the edges, parapets and rooftop equipment before hurricane season and after high winds. FEMA says the roof border is at more risk from wind uplift and wind-driven rain than the rest of the roof.15
  • Snow drifts: after heavy snow, have a qualified person check drifts at parapets, roof steps and rooftop equipment. FEMA's warning signs of an overloaded roof include sagging ceiling tiles, sprinkler heads dropping below the ceiling and doors that stick.14

Sources

Written by the Cloudbreak team. Numbers, dates and rules cite the published sources below.

  1. 1. Cloudbreak: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center storm reports, as counted on the Cloudbreak hail history page for Connecticut
  2. 2. NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division: TCFAQ E19: How many direct hits by hurricanes of various categories have affected each state?
  3. 3. NOAA NCEI and North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies: Connecticut: 2025 State Climate Summaries
  4. 4. NOAA National Climatic Data Center (UNT Digital Library copy): Storm Data 2010 Annual Summaries: Tornadoes, tornado days and deaths by state, 1953 to 2010
  5. 5. NOAA Storm Prediction Center: OKX (New York City) Severe Weather Climatology, 1980 to 2006
  6. 6. NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Climatology
  7. 7. Connecticut General Statutes: Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-316a: Storm shutters; imposition of hurricane deductibles
  8. 8. Connecticut General Assembly: Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-10a: Mediation program
  9. 9. Connecticut FAIR Plan: Coverages & General Information
  10. 10. Connecticut General Statutes: Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-307: Standard form of fire insurance policy
  11. 11. Connecticut General Statutes: Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-308: Provisions of policy or contract
  12. 12. State of Connecticut, CT Alert: Learn about CT Alerts
  13. 13. Federal Emergency Management Agency: Waiting Period for Activating Flood Policy?
  14. 14. Federal Emergency Management Agency: Snow Load Safety Guidance (FEMA P-957)
  15. 15. Federal Emergency Management Agency: FEMA P-2181, Fact Sheet 3.3.2: Roof Systems, Low-Slope Roofs (March 2022)
  16. 16. Connecticut Insurance Department: Consumer Advisory, August 22, 2025: Hurricane Season & Flood Risk
  17. 17. Connecticut FAIR Plan: Welcome to CT FAIR Plan

Storms in Connecticut

Across the Northeast, the chance of severe weather rises from late March to late September and peaks in June and July, the Northeast Regional Climate Center says.1 Large hail is less common in the Northeast than in much of the country. Before July 2026, hail 2 inches or larger had been logged only 15 times in Connecticut since 1950.1,2 Storms often hit Litchfield and Hartford counties, or Fairfield and New Haven counties, then weaken as they move east, a Western Connecticut State University meteorologist told the CT Mirror.3

Notable storms

  1. July 4, 2026A 3.5-inch hailstone fell in Terryville, and NOAA approved it in October 2026 as Connecticut's largest on record. NWS Boston also logged 3-inch hail in Bristol. A station in New London recorded a 65 mph gust.2,4
  2. August 27, 2020An EF1 tornado with peak winds of 110 mph tracked 11.1 miles from Bethany through Hamden to North Haven, up to 500 yards wide, with extensive damage to buildings near Hamden's town center. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists $500,000 in property damage.5
  3. May 15, 2018A macroburst with winds up to 110 mph cut a swath 3 miles wide and 9 miles long from New Fairfield to Brookfield, and falling trees killed two people. NWS New York confirmed two EF1 tornadoes in New Haven County. In Granby, 2.5-inch hail broke car windshields and house windows.6,7
  4. July 1, 2012Thunderstorms across southern Connecticut dropped hail up to 2 inches across in Cheshire and Clinton. Hail about 1.75 inches across damaged cars on the Wilbur Cross Parkway near Wallingford.8,9,10
  5. June 24, 2010An EF1 tornado with peak winds of 110 mph hit a small part of Bridgeport just north of Interstate 95, and straight-line winds near 100 mph collapsed 5 buildings in the city and damaged 9 others. NOAA's Storm Events Database lists 25 injuries from the winds and 3 from the tornado.11,12

Warnings and alerts

NWS Albany covers Litchfield County, NWS Boston covers Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties, and NWS New York covers Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.13 The state's CT Alert system sends emergency alerts by text, email, phone call or app to people who register online, and texting a ZIP code to 888-777 signs up for text alerts.14

Sources

  1. 1. Northeast Regional Climate Center, Cornell University: Severe Weather Climatology
  2. 2. NOAA NCEI State Climate Extremes Committee: State Climate Extremes Committee Decision Regarding State Hail Diameter Record for Connecticut
  3. 3. CT Mirror: Powerful July 4th storms may have broken CT record for largest hail
  4. 4. CT Insider: Fourth of July storms may have produced Connecticut's largest hailstone ever
  5. 5. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: New Haven County tornado, August 27, 2020
  6. 6. NWS New York: May 15, 2018 Severe Weather Outbreak
  7. 7. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: Hartford County hail in Granby, May 15, 2018
  8. 8. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: New Haven County hail in Cheshire, July 1, 2012
  9. 9. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: Middlesex County hail in Clinton, July 1, 2012
  10. 10. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: New Haven County hail near Wallingford, July 1, 2012
  11. 11. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: Bridgeport tornado, June 24, 2010
  12. 12. NOAA NCEI: Storm Events Database: Bridgeport thunderstorm wind, June 24, 2010
  13. 13. National Weather Service: Connecticut County Warning Forecast Areas
  14. 14. State of Connecticut: Learn about CT Alerts

Hail history in other states