Hurricanes that hit Nantucket County, Massachusetts: hurricane history

23 storms have passed within 50 km of Nantucket County from 1851 to 2006, coloured by intensity on the map.

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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 Nantucket County

The record holds 23 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Nantucket County, Massachusetts between 1851 and 2006. The busiest month is September, with 9 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 23storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 9at 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 Nantucket County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression00%
Tropical storm1252%
Category 1626%
Category 229%
Category 314%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity29%

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

Nantucket County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1880s.1850s11860s21870s31880s51890s11910s11920s21930s11950s31960s11970s11980s12000s1

The 2000s only run to 2006, 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
1850s1
1860s2
1870s3
1880s5
1890s1
1910s1
1920s2
1930s1
1950s3
1960s1
1970s1
1980s1
2000s1

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 9 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul2Aug7Sep9Oct5Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul2
Aug7
Sep9
Oct5
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Nantucket County

  • Edna (1954)5 September 1954 to 14 September 1954, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 943 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1869 (North Atlantic)26 September 1869 to 5 October 1869, peak Category 2 (90 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1924 (North Atlantic)16 August 1924 to 28 August 1924, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 963 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of July 1867 (North Atlantic)28 July 1867 to 4 August 1867, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 969 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1879 (North Atlantic)12 August 1879 to 20 August 1879, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 971 hPa

Most recent storms near Nantucket County

  • Beryl (2006)18 July 2006 to 22 July 2006, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 1,000 hPa
  • Alberto (1988)5 August 1988 to 8 August 1988, peak Tropical storm (35 kt), 1,002 hPa
  • Carrie (1972)29 August 1972 to 5 September 1972, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 992 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.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Nantucket County

  • Esther (1961)10 September 1961 to 27 September 1961, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 919 hPa
  • Edna (1954)5 September 1954 to 14 September 1954, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 943 hPa

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