Puerto Rico hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 78 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 178 hurricane and tropical storm records in Puerto Rico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 10 a year since 2000. The deadliest was Tropical Storm Jeanne (September 14, 2004): 4 deaths, 1 injury and $265 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Puerto Rico ranks 12th of 34 states and territories by count and 2nd of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in Puerto Rico, 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
- 1781996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 10average
- Deaths
- 42 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $829Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 202429 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 Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico averages about 10 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 12th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2024 (29). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Puerto Rico records 520 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 2nd 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 Puerto Rico have the most hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Ponce Municipio leads Puerto Rico: 10 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 87.0 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Arecibo Municipio has the most tropical records (11 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 Puerto Rico?
83% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (113 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 18 · Aug 113 · Sep 35 · Oct 5 · Nov 7 · Dec 0 (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 Puerto Rico?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-09-14 | Tropical Storm Jeanne · Tropical StormCabo Rojo Municipio and 2 more · forecast zone Southwest One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. Tropical Storm Jeanne and its associated weather affected Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra from Sep. 14-17. On its wake it left considerable damages to the electric power grid, the water supply system, highways and roads, bridges, schools, individual households, businesses and commerce due to extensive flooding, ... | 4 | 1 | $265M |
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 Puerto Rico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-09-21 | Hurricane Georges · Hurricane (Typhoon)Humacao Municipio · forecast zone Humacao One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $518M | |
| 2004-09-14 | Tropical Storm Jeanne · Tropical StormCabo Rojo Municipio and 2 more · forecast zone Southwest One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 4 | 1 | $265M | |
| 1999-11-16 | Hurricane Lenny · Hurricane (Typhoon)Arecibo Municipio and 6 more · forecast zone Aguadilla One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $27M | |
| 2001-08-22 | Tropical StormGuayama Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Southeast One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $13M | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane Maria · Hurricane (Typhoon)Aguas Buenas Municipio and 8 more · forecast zone Eastern Interior One storm episode: 10 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $6.0M |
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 Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico'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 | Puerto Rico | United States | Puerto Rico's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 23 | 1,123 | 2.0% |
| 2000s | 42 | 4,928 | 0.9% |
| 2010s | 60 | 2,761 | 2.2% |
| 2020-26 | 53 | 2,697 | 2.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Puerto Rico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-22 | Tropical StormGuayama Municipio and 4 more · forecast zone Southeast | 0 | 1 | – | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aguas Buenas Municipio and 8 more · forecast zone Eastern Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aguas Buenas Municipio and 8 more · forecast zone Eastern Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aguas Buenas Municipio and 8 more · forecast zone Eastern Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2017-09-20 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Aguas Buenas Municipio and 8 more · forecast zone Eastern Interior | 0 | 0 | $602K | |
| 2004-09-14 | Tropical StormAibonito Municipio and 9 more · forecast zone Central Interior | 0 | 1 | $106M |
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 Puerto Rico
FEMA has declared 25 disasters in Puerto Rico 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); 15 were major disasters, the latest on November 27, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-27 | DR-4850 | Tropical Storm Ernesto | 38 |
| 2024-08-13 | EM-3610 | Tropical Storm Ernesto | 78 |
| 2022-09-21 | DR-4671 | Hurricane Fiona | 78 |
| 2022-09-18 | EM-3583 | Tropical Storm Fiona | 78 |
| 2020-09-09 | DR-4560 | Hurricane Isaias | 4 |
| 2020-08-22 | EM-3537 | Tropical Storm Laura | 78 |
| 2020-07-29 | EM-3532 | Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine | 78 |
| 2019-08-27 | EM-3417 | Tropical Storm Dorian | 78 |
| 2017-09-20 | DR-4339 | Hurricane Maria | 78 |
| 2017-09-18 | EM-3391 | Hurricane Maria | 78 |
| 2017-09-10 | DR-4336 | Hurricane Irma | 32 |
| 2017-09-05 | EM-3384 | Hurricane Irma | 10 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Ponce Municipio: the county's whole recordThe Puerto Rico county with the most hurricane and tropical storm records per square mile
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