Manchester, CT Tornado History — 58 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Manchester, CT had?
Manchester has had 58 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 5 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Manchester?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Manchester was an EF1 on August 18, 2023.
When is tornado season in Manchester?
July is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Manchester, with 15 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Manchester
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 14 total, averaging 0.7 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Manchester
7 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Manchester since 1950, across 3 events. 774 injuries have been reported across all events. 2011 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F4 on October 3, 1979, which caused 3 fatalities along a 11.3-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Manchester
About Tornadoes in Manchester
This overview was written July 29, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Manchester sits in Hartford County, just east of the Connecticut River, and the tornadoes documented around it have arrived in the warm half of the year, from spring into October. The area has seen genuine violence. On October 3, 1979, an F4 tornado tore an 11.3-mile path up to 1,400 yards wide through the region, killing three people, injuring 500, and causing $275 million in property damage. Decades earlier, on May 24, 1962, an F3 killed one person and injured 50 along an 11.6-mile track, and on August 21, 1951, an F2 stayed on the ground for 43.9 miles and injured nine.
The modern era has produced comparable ferocity. On June 1, 2011, an EF3 carved a 37.58-mile path as much as 880 yards wide across the region, leaving three people dead, 200 injured, and $227.6 million in damage.
Lower-rated tornadoes have kept the threat current: an EF1 on June 26, 2009, another EF1 on July 1, 2013, an EF1 on September 4, 2019, and an EF1 on August 18, 2023. For a town in central Connecticut's river valley, the pattern is steady summer thunderstorm risk punctuated, on rare days, by something far worse.