Hurricanes that hit Suffolk County, Massachusetts: hurricane history

23 storms have passed within 50 km of Suffolk County from 1851 to 2021, 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 Suffolk County

The record holds 23 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Suffolk County, Massachusetts between 1851 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 10 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength.

  • 23storms within 50 km
  • 2major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 6at 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 Suffolk County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression00%
Tropical storm1774%
Category 114%
Category 2313%
Category 329%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity00%

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

Suffolk County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 3 in 1860s.1850s21860s31870s21880s21890s21900s11910s11920s11940s11950s11960s21990s32000s12020s1

The 2020s only run to 2021, 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
1850s2
1860s3
1870s2
1880s2
1890s2
1900s1
1910s1
1920s1
1940s1
1950s1
1960s2
1990s3
2000s1
2020s1

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 10 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun0Jul3Aug4Sep10Oct4Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun0
Jul3
Aug4
Sep10
Oct4
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Suffolk County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1869 (North Atlantic)2 September 1869 to 9 September 1869, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Carol (1954)25 August 1954 to 1 September 1954, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 955 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1944 (North Atlantic)9 September 1944 to 16 September 1944, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Bob (1991)16 August 1991 to 29 August 1991, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa

Most recent storms near Suffolk County

  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Hermine (2004)27 August 2004 to 31 August 2004, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 1,002 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 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 Suffolk County

  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Bob (1991)16 August 1991 to 29 August 1991, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Carol (1954)25 August 1954 to 1 September 1954, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 955 hPa

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