Written by Annabelle Jones
On July 13, 1950, around 7:30 p.m., an EF2 tornado touched down in Ridgefield. According to a Ridgefield Press article from July 20, 1950, it traveled one mile through the center of town, causing three injuries, and around $55,000 in town property damages, a price that is about $700,000 in 2024.
Ridgefield photographer Frank Gordon took 27 photos of the aftermath, and both copies and original negatives are kept in the Ridgefield Historical Society collection. A notable photo is of the former Ridgefield High School on East Ridge, now Ridgefield Playhouse, with part of its roof torn off and branches scattered on the front lawn. Other photos show the damage to streets and other properties, and some include people who began repairs on power lines and moving fallen trees.
This is one of two tornadoes recorded in Ridgefield’s history by the Climatological National Summary, now the Storm Events Database, which was established a few months earlier in January 1950 by the National Weather Service. It was the first year of U.S. tornado tracking, and many tornadoes before the database are unknown or incomplete in their history. This is the only tornado to have caused direct, documented damage to the town.
It is important to note that while the event was documented, information about distance and damage costs from the Climatological National Summary does not support the 1950 Ridgefield Press articles. The data reports that the tornado occurred in the early morning of July 14, 1950, traveled five miles, and caused $250,000 in property damages. Inconsistencies in reporting and unorganized documentation were noted in the early years of the database, as well as the reliance on untrained witnesses to give quantitative information. While the Storm Events Database is now a reliable tool for U.S. severe weather information, a local press article is likely more accurate in that period.
The photographs are on physical display for December at the Ridgefield Historical Society Scott House, or online in our PastPerfect collections catalog on the Ridgefield Historical Society website, under the keyword search “2006.305.3001”. This event, along with many others in Ridgefield’s history, is documented in photographs. For more photographs of people, places, and things in older Ridgefield, visit the Ridgefield Historical Society’s collections and online archive.
The Scott House, located at 4 Sunset Lane, is open for visitors on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1-5 p.m. There is no admission fee. The Historical Society always welcomes donations of Ridgefield artifacts. If you have old photographs or other items to donate please contact us at [email protected] or 203-438-5821.
