Connecticut Hurricane Season

Q: How often does Connecticut get hit by hurricanes?

NOAA's landfall list records 11 hurricane strikes on Connecticut between 1851 and 2025, which averages out to about one every 16 years. Treat that as an average and not a schedule: strikes cluster, decades can pass quietly, and NOAA itself cautions that the earliest decades of the record are incomplete in places. 2 of those strikes were major (Category 3 or higher) in Connecticut.

Q: What was the strongest hurricane to hit Connecticut?

By NOAA's own per-state attribution, the strongest in the record: Great New England in 1938 (Category 3 in Connecticut, 941 mb at landfall); Carol in 1954 (Category 3 in Connecticut, 955 mb at landfall); Gloria in 1985 (Category 2 in Connecticut, 942 mb at landfall). The full table on this page lists every entry with NOAA's category, central pressure, and maximum winds.

Q: When was the last hurricane to hit Connecticut?

The most recent hurricane strike in NOAA's list for Connecticut is Bob in 1991 (Category 2 in this state). The list runs through the 2025 season; anything newer than that, and anything currently active, belongs to the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov.

Q: Has a hurricane ever hit Connecticut in November?

Not in NOAA's landfall list for Connecticut. November strikes on the US are rare everywhere: the record's November entries are concentrated in Florida and the Carolinas. The season officially runs through November 30 all the same.

Q: Is a hurricane coming to Connecticut right now?

The panel near the top of this page republishes the latest NHC public advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. The National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov publishes every active storm, forecast, watch and warning, and your state and local emergency management agencies issue evacuation decisions. During any active storm, those are the sources to act on.

Season dates, the months storms have actually arrived, and every strike NOAA has recorded, from the agency record.

Hurricane season is open right now: it runs June 1 to November 30. For anything live, use the National Hurricane Center, not this page.

Season

Jun 1 to Nov 30

NOAA recorded strikes

Peak month here

September

Is there a storm near Connecticut right now? Go to the National Hurricane Center.

The panel just below republishes the National Hurricane Center’s own latest advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. Tracks, cones and forecasts are the National Hurricane Center’s. If a storm is active or approaching, NHC is the source of official forecasts and warnings, and your emergency management agency is the source of evacuation and shelter decisions.

National Hurricane Center for current storms, forecasts, watches, and warnings
Your state emergency management agency for evacuation orders and shelter information
Ready.gov hurricane preparedness for how to prepare, in FEMA’s own words

“It only takes one hurricane (or tropical storm) to cause a disaster.” NOAA Climate Prediction Center

What NHC is saying right now

Republished verbatim from the National Hurricane Center via the National Weather Service API, with NHC’s own issuance times. For anything that matters, read it at nhc.noaa.gov where it is always current.

Loading the latest NHC products…

Connecticut hurricane season at a glance

Climatology and history, never a forecast

Today

The bar marks mid August to mid October. NHC: "The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October." The season itself runs June 1 to November 30.

hurricane strikes in NOAA's list

1851 to 2025

major (Cat 3+) strikes

as attributed by NOAA AOML

September

busiest month here

6 of 11 in the record

~16 yrs

average gap between events

an average, not a schedule

Connecticut's shoreline sits behind Long Island, which absorbs the first landfall of nearly every hurricane that reaches it. The storms that matter here are the fast movers that cross the Sound with their strength intact, as in 1938 and 1954.

The dates

When is hurricane season in Connecticut?

The season dates are set by NOAA, they are the same for the whole Atlantic basin, and they are worth quoting rather than paraphrasing:

“The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.”National Hurricane Center, source

“The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October.”National Hurricane Center, source

Those are basin-wide dates. What they mean for Connecticut specifically is in the month histogram below: the calendar of storms that have actually arrived here, which is narrower than the season and different for every state.

The season dates are also not walls. NHC is explicit that storms sometimes form outside the official window; the off season page counts exactly how often. See the December to May record.

NOAA’s outlook for the 2026 season

NOAA Climate Prediction Center, issued 6 August 2026. Snapshot taken 2026-08-27; always current at the source.

“NOAA's updated outlook for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season indicates that a below-normal season is the most likely outcome, with low chances for a near-normal season, and a very small chance that the season would be above-normal.”

7 to 13 named storms
2 to 6 hurricanes
0 to 2 major hurricanes

“NOAA does not make seasonal hurricane landfall predictions. Hurricane landfalls are largely determined by the weather patterns in place as the hurricane approaches, and those patterns are usually only predictable when the storm is within several days of making landfall.” NOAA Climate Prediction Center

Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo, a large hurricane with a well defined eye, approaching the southeastern United States coast — Hurricane Hugo from NOAA's polar orbiting satellite on September 21, 1989, approaching its South Carolina landfall. September is the peak of the season basin-wide, and September leads the strike record in Connecticut. “Hugo 1989-09-21 1844Z” — NOAA Satellite and Information Service — Public domain

The calendar

Which months hurricanes actually hit in Connecticut

This histogram counts the hurricane strikes NOAA's landfall list attributes to Connecticut, by month, across the whole 1851 to 2025 record. It is a record of what happened, not a forecast of any year.

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Hurricane strikes on Connecticut by month, 1851 to 2025, as attributed by NOAA AOML's continental US hurricane landfall list.

September accounts for 6 of the 11 events in the record here. A month with zero strikes is not a month with zero risk: the basin-wide season runs June through November everywhere, and the routing block at the top of this page applies in all of them.

Satellite image of Hurricane Nicole, a broad late season hurricane over the western Atlantic, approaching the Florida east coast at night — Hurricane Nicole from NOAA’s VIIRS satellite on November 10, 2022, two days before the end of climatology charts would suggest the Atlantic quiets down. November strikes are rare and real: the month pages count every one. “Hurricane Nicole at 0657 UTC November 10, 2022” — NOAA-20 VIIRS via CIMSS — Public domain

The record

Every hurricane strike NOAA has recorded on Connecticut

Reproduced from NOAA AOML’s continental US hurricane landfall list, with NOAA’s own per-state category attribution. “Category in Connecticut” is the Saffir-Simpson category NOAA assigns for this state specifically, which is often lower than the storm’s landfall category elsewhere.

Year	Month	Name	Category in Connecticut	Highest US category	Pressure	Max wind
1991	Aug	Bob	Category 2	Cat 2	962 mb	90 kt
1985	Sep	Gloria	Category 2	Cat 3	942 mb	90 kt
1972	Jun	Agnes	Category 1	Cat 1	980 mb	n/a
1960	Sep	Donna	Category 1	Cat 4	930 mb	125 kt
1954	Aug	Carol	Category 3	Cat 3	955 mb	100 kt
1944	Sep	Great Atlantic	Category 1	Cat 2	954 mb	90 kt
1938	Sep	Great New England	Category 3	Cat 3	941 mb	105 kt
1894	Oct	Unnamed	Category 1	Cat 3	950 mb	105 kt
1893	Aug	Midnight Storm	Category 1	Cat 1	986 mb	75 kt
1869	Sep	Eastern New England	Category 1	Cat 3	963 mb	100 kt
1858	Sep	New England	Category 1	Cat 1	976 mb	80 kt

How complete is this record?

“Because of the sparseness of towns and cities before 1900 in some coastal locations along the United States, the above list is not complete for all states. Before the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts became settled, hurricanes may have been underestimated in their intensity or missed completely for small-sized systems (i.e., 2004's Hurricane Charley).”NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division, source

A wave from the 1938 New England hurricane storm surge exploding against a seawall, towering over the street beside it — Storm surge from the September 1938 hurricane striking a New England seawall, from the NOAA National Weather Service historic collection. New England's strike list is short, and this is what its entries look like when they arrive. “1938 Hurricane Storm Surge” — NOAA / NWS Historic Collection — Public domain

Reading the table

What the categories mean, and how they land in Connecticut

NHC’s definitions, in its own words: a tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, a hurricane 74 mph or higher, and a major hurricane 111 mph or higher, corresponding to Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Category measures wind only: water, historically the deadlier hazard, is not in the number, which is one more reason a history page must never stand in for the National Hurricane Center during a real storm.

Cat 1

Cat 2

Cat 3

Cat 4

Cat 5

Hurricane strikes on Connecticut by NOAA-attributed category in this state, 1851 to 2025.

The eye of Hurricane Katrina photographed from a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft, a towering circular wall of cloud around clear air — The eye of Hurricane Katrina from a NOAA WP-3D hurricane hunter aircraft, August 28, 2005. NOAA aircraft fly into every major storm; the best-track data behind this page is partly theirs. “Hurricane Katrina Eye viewed from Hurricane Hunter” — NOAA — Public domain

Common questions

Connecticut hurricane season FAQ

When is hurricane season in Connecticut?

The National Hurricane Center's dates apply to the whole Atlantic basin, Connecticut included: "The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30." NHC also states: "The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October." For Connecticut specifically, the strike record peaks in September, with 6 of the 11 recorded strikes.

How often does Connecticut get hit by hurricanes?

What was the strongest hurricane to hit Connecticut?

When was the last hurricane to hit Connecticut?

Has a hurricane ever hit Connecticut in November?

Is a hurricane coming to Connecticut right now?

What do hurricane categories actually measure?

Wind, and only wind. NHC defines a hurricane as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher, and a major hurricane as 111 mph or higher (Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale). Storm surge and rainfall flooding are not part of the category, which is one reason the category of an approaching storm never tells the whole story and official guidance does.

Keep planning

More for the Connecticut coast

Connecticut beach conditionsLive rip current and surf risk from the National Weather Service, reproduced as issued.Connecticut mosquito forecastThe weeks after a tropical system are peak mosquito weeks. Timing and risk by state.Hurricane season nationwideSeason dates, the September 10 peak, and strike history for every coastal state.

Hurricane season by state

Hurricane season by month

Strike counts and categories are reproduced from NOAA AOML’s continental US hurricane landfall list (Revised in March 2026 to add in the 2025 season) and NOAA HURDAT2. Season dates and peak are NHC’s, quoted. These are historical records and season climatology. For a live forecast or watch: nhc.noaa.gov.
Hero image: “Katrina 2005-08-28 2245Z” — U.S. Navy / Naval Research Laboratory — Public domain