Hurricanes that hit Worcester County, Massachusetts: hurricane history

32 storms have passed within 50 km of Worcester 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 Worcester County

The record holds 32 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Worcester County, Massachusetts between 1851 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 15 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength.

  • 32storms within 50 km
  • 2major (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 Worcester County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression13%
Tropical storm2269%
Category 1413%
Category 239%
Category 326%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity00%

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

Worcester County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 4 in 1960s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2020s

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
1890s3
1900s1
1910s1
1920s1
1930s1
1940s1
1950s2
1960s4
1970s2
1980s1
1990s4
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 15 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun0Jul4Aug7Sep15Oct4Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun0
Jul4
Aug7
Sep15
Oct4
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Worcester 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 Worcester County

  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Hanna (2008)28 August 2008 to 8 September 2008, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 977 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 Worcester County

  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Belle (1976)6 August 1976 to 10 August 1976, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 957 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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