Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit New Jersey: hurricane history

40 storms have passed within 50 km of New Jersey from 1856 to 2021, 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 New Jersey

The record holds 40 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of New Jersey between 1856 and 2021. The busiest month is August, with 14 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 2 strength.

  • 40storms within 50 km
  • 0major (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 New Jersey?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression410%
Tropical storm2768%
Category 1718%
Category 225%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity00%

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

New Jersey storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1880s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2021, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1856, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s1
1860s1
1870s3
1880s5
1890s4
1900s2
1910s1
1930s1
1940s1
1950s2
1960s3
1970s3
1980s1
1990s4
2000s2
2010s2
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 14 in Aug.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun3Jul4Aug14Sep14Oct5Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun3
Jul4
Aug14
Sep14
Oct5
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near New Jersey

  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Gloria (1985)16 September 1985 to 2 October 1985, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 920 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1878 (North Atlantic)13 October 1878 to 25 October 1878, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 963 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1893 (North Atlantic)13 August 1893 to 26 August 1893, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 952 hPa
  • Belle (1976)6 August 1976 to 10 August 1976, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 957 hPa
  • Sandy (2012)21 October 2012 to 31 October 2012, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 940 hPa

Most recent storms near New Jersey

  • Henri (2021)15 August 2021 to 24 August 2021, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 986 hPa
  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Isaias (2020)28 July 2020 to 5 August 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 986 hPa
  • Fay (2020)5 July 2020 to 11 July 2020, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 hPa
  • Sandy (2012)21 October 2012 to 31 October 2012, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 940 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 New Jersey with their own pages

  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Gloria (1985)16 September 1985 to 2 October 1985, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 920 hPa
  • Belle (1976)6 August 1976 to 10 August 1976, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 957 hPa
  • Sandy (2012)21 October 2012 to 31 October 2012, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 940 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa
  • Agnes (1972)14 June 1972 to 23 June 1972, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 977 hPa
  • Allison (2001)5 June 2001 to 19 June 2001, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 1,000 hPa

New Jersey counties

Every county that a storm has come near is listed, most storms first. 21 of them have at least 3 storms and their own page.

CountyStormsStrongest near the county
Ocean County27Category 2
Atlantic County26Category 2
Burlington County25Category 2
Monmouth County24Category 2
Cape May County23Category 2
Cumberland County22Category 1
Gloucester County20Category 1
Bergen County19Category 1
Camden County19Category 1
Passaic County18Category 1
Salem County18Category 1
Essex County16Category 1
Hudson County16Category 1
Middlesex County16Category 1
Somerset County16Category 1
Morris County15Category 1
Union County15Category 1
Mercer County14Category 1
Hunterdon County12Category 1
Sussex County12Category 1
Warren County10Category 1

Other states

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