Hurricane History Map

Puerto Rico storm history

80 storms have passed within 50 km of Puerto Rico from 1851 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Puerto Rico

The record holds 80 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Puerto Rico between 1851 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 31 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 12 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 80storms within 50 km
  • 11major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 35at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Puerto Rico?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression45%
Tropical storm2936%
Category 11316%
Category 21114%
Category 356%
Category 445%
Category 523%
Unknown intensity1215%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Puerto Rico storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 2010s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s6
1860s5
1870s6
1880s3
1890s6
1900s4
1910s4
1920s4
1930s5
1940s3
1950s3
1960s2
1970s4
1980s4
1990s5
2000s5
2010s7
2020s4

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 31 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul6Aug29Sep31Oct10Nov3Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul6
Aug29
Sep31
Oct10
Nov3
Dec1

Strongest storms near Puerto Rico

  • Unnamed storm of September 1928 (North Atlantic)6 September 1928 to 21 September 1928, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 929 hPa
  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1899 (North Atlantic)3 August 1899 to 4 September 1899, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1932 (North Atlantic)25 September 1932 to 2 October 1932, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 943 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1930 (North Atlantic)29 August 1930 to 17 September 1930, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 933 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 4 (120 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa

Most recent storms near Puerto Rico

  • Ernesto (2024)11 August 2024 to 20 August 2024, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 967 hPa
  • Fiona (2022)14 September 2022 to 27 September 2022, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 931 hPa
  • Fred (2021)9 August 2021 to 20 August 2021, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 991 hPa
  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Karen (2019)22 September 2019 to 27 September 2019, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Notable storms near Puerto Rico with their own pages

  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Georges (1998)15 September 1998 to 1 October 1998, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 937 hPa
  • Marilyn (1995)12 September 1995 to 1 October 1995, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Betsy (1956)9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Fiona (2022)14 September 2022 to 27 September 2022, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 931 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa
  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Hortense (1996)3 September 1996 to 16 September 1996, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 935 hPa
  • Jeanne (2004)13 September 2004 to 29 September 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 951 hPa
  • Frances (1961)30 September 1961 to 10 October 1961, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 948 hPa

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