Rhode Island hurricanes and tropical storms
Every recorded hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996 · 5 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 29 hurricane and tropical storm records in Rhode Island from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 4.8 a year since 2000. The costliest was the August 22, 2021 tropical storm ($1.6 million in 2025 dollars). Rhode Island ranks 24th of 34 states and territories by count and 6th of 33 per square mile.
Hurricanes and tropical storms in Rhode Island, 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
- 291996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 4.8average
- Deaths
- 00 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $2.4Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 20119 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 Rhode Island?
Rhode Island averages about 4.8 hurricane and tropical storm records a year since 2000, 24th of 34 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2011 (9). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Rhode Island records 280 hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996, 6th 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 Rhode Island have the most hurricane and tropical storm records?
Per square mile, Newport County leads Rhode Island: 3 days with a hurricane or tropical storm record since 1996, 29.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Washington County has the most tropical records (8 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 Rhode Island?
100% of its hurricane and tropical storm records since 1996 fell in August and September. The busiest month is August (25 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 0 · Mar 0 · Apr 0 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 25 · Sep 4 · Oct 0 · Nov 0 · Dec 0 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
The costliest hurricane and tropical storm records in Rhode Island
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-22 | Hurricane Henri · Tropical StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.6M |
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 Rhode Island?
Rhode Island'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 | Rhode Island | United States | Rhode Island's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 0 | 1,123 | 0 |
| 2000s | 1 | 4,928 | 0.02% |
| 2010s | 12 | 2,761 | 0.43% |
| 2020-26 | 16 | 2,697 | 0.59% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hurricane and tropical storm records in Rhode Island
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-22 | Tropical StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington | 0 | 0 | $1.1M | |
| 2021-08-22 | Tropical StormNewport County · forecast zone Newport | 0 | 0 | $545K |
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 Rhode Island
FEMA has declared 10 disasters in Rhode Island 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); 6 were major disasters, the latest on August 21, 2021.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-21 | EM-3563 | Hurricane Henri | 6 |
| 2012-11-03 | DR-4089 | Hurricane Sandy | 4 |
| 2012-10-29 | EM-3355 | Hurricane Sandy | 5 |
| 2011-09-03 | DR-4027 | Tropical Storm Irene | 6 |
| 2011-08-27 | EM-3334 | Hurricane Irene | 5 |
| 2005-09-19 | EM-3255 | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation | 5 |
| 1991-08-26 | DR-913 | Hurricane Bob | 5 |
| 1985-10-15 | DR-748 | Hurricane Gloria | 5 |
| 1955-08-20 | DR-39 | Hurricane & Flood | 1 |
| 1954-09-02 | DR-23 | Hurricanes | 1 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Newport County: the county's whole recordThe Rhode Island 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
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