New Jersey hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 21 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 395 hurricane and tropical storm records in New Jersey from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 54 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Hurricane Irene (August 27, 2011): 2 deaths and $15.7 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 22 records. New Jersey ranks 9th of 34 states and territories by count and 1st of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in New Jersey, 1996 to 2026
Tropical records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 3951996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 54average
- Deaths
- 310 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $25Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2003112 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are hurricane and tropical storm records common in New Jersey?
New Jersey averages about 54 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 9th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (112). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Jersey records 537 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 1st of 33 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Jersey have the most hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Cape May County leads New Jersey: 37 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 147.1 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Cape May County has the most tropical records (70 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is hurricane season in New Jersey?
New Jersey's hurricane and tropical storm records by month. The busiest month is September (77 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 34 · Feb 25 · Mar 14 · Apr 20 · May 15 · Jun 5 · Jul 25 · Aug 69 · Sep 77 · Oct 46 · Nov 21 · Dec 44 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest hurricane and tropical storm records in New Jersey?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-08-27 | Hurricane Irene · Storm Surge/TideOcean County · forecast zone Eastern Ocean One storm episode: 22 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. Irene produced torrential downpour rains that resulted in major flooding and a number of record breaking crests on area rivers, tropical storm force wind gusts with record breaking outages for New Jersey utilities, one confirmed tornado and a three to five foot storm surge that caused moderate to severe tidal flooding ... | 2 | 0 | $16M | |
| 1996-07-13 | Tropical StormOcean County · forecast zone Eastern Ocean A weakening Tropical Storm Bertha passed across eastern parts of the state on July 13th. Hurricane Bertha made landfall near Wilmington North Carolina close to 5 p.m. EDT on the 12th and moved northnortheast overnight. At 11 p.m. EDT it was 100 miles southwest of Norfolk, at 3 a.m. EDT on the 13th it was 45 miles ... | 1 | 2 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest hurricane and tropical storm records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-08-27 | Hurricane Irene · Storm Surge/TideOcean County · forecast zone Eastern Ocean One storm episode: 22 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 0 | $16M | |
| 2003-02-17 | Storm Surge/TideCape May County · forecast zone Eastern Cape May One storm episode: 8 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $3.2M | |
| 2003-09-18 | Tropical StormAtlantic County · forecast zone Eastern Atlantic One storm episode: 4 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $3.0M | |
| 1999-09-16 | Hurricane Floyd · Hurricane (Typhoon)Atlantic County · forecast zone Eastern Atlantic One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $2.9M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hurricane and tropical storm records becoming more frequent in New Jersey?
New Jersey's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Jersey | United States | New Jersey's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 16 | 1,123 | 1.4% |
| 2000s | 304 | 4,928 | 6.2% |
| 2010s | 39 | 2,761 | 1.4% |
| 2020-26 | 36 | 2,697 | 1.3% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in New Jersey
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormPassaic County · forecast zone Western Passaic | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormPassaic County · forecast zone Eastern Passaic | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormUnion County · forecast zone Western Union | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormEssex County · forecast zone Eastern Essex | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormEssex County · forecast zone Western Essex | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormBergen County · forecast zone Western Bergen | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormBergen County · forecast zone Eastern Bergen | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2020-08-04 | Tropical StormHudson County · forecast zone Hudson | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormWarren County · forecast zone Warren | 0 | 0 | $328K | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormSussex County · forecast zone Sussex | 0 | 0 | $328K | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormMorris County · forecast zone Morris | 0 | 0 | $656K | |
| 2011-08-27 | Tropical StormMonmouth County · forecast zone Eastern Monmouth | 0 | 0 | $6.6M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for hurricane and tropical storm records in New Jersey
FEMA has declared 15 disasters in New Jersey for hurricane and tropical storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name hurricane or tropical storm or typhoon in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 9 were major disasters, the latest on September 5, 2021.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-05 | DR-4614 | Remnants of Hurricane Ida | 21 |
| 2021-09-02 | EM-3573 | Remnants of Hurricane Ida | 21 |
| 2020-12-11 | DR-4574 | Tropical Storm Isaias | 11 |
| 2012-10-30 | DR-4086 | Hurricane Sandy | 21 |
| 2012-10-28 | EM-3354 | Hurricane Sandy | 21 |
| 2011-10-14 | DR-4039 | Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee | 5 |
| 2011-08-31 | DR-4021 | Hurricane Irene | 21 |
| 2011-08-27 | EM-3332 | Hurricane Irene | 21 |
| 2005-09-19 | EM-3257 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 21 |
| 1999-09-18 | DR-1295 | Hurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations | 9 |
| 1999-09-17 | EM-3148 | Hurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations | 21 |
| 1998-03-03 | DR-1206 | Severe Winter Coastal Storm, High Winds, Flooding | 3 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Cape May County: the county's whole recordThe New Jersey county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
- Hurricanes and tropical storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New JerseyTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in New Jersey6,055 records
- Winter storms in New Jersey5,132 records
- Floods in New Jersey3,787 records