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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dover, NJ

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

36 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dover, New Jersey since 1851, 3 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 50 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
3

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
33

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
50

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

no recorded deaths

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dover

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Dover, New Jersey, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 251 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
2020IsaiasAug 426 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1149 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2834 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 748 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1658 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1336 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2768 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
1976BelleAug 1068 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2230 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2832 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1168 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1566 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1960BrendaJul 3048 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1927 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 111 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2970 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1946 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 361 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3032 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 47 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1638 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1459 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 123 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2921 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2436 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1161 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2216 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2474 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2359 miCategory 1 (82 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 575 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2940 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2643 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3026 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1918 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2845 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dover: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dover

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s6
  • 2000s2
  • 1990s13
  • 1980s14
  • 1970s8(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s1
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Dover, New Jersey
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
May 28, 1973F39 mi0.4 mi0 / 12
May 28, 1973F37 mi0.4 mi0 / 0
Jul 29, 2009EF225 mi7.42 mi0 / 0
Oct 26, 1981F217 mi0.8 mi0 / 0
Jul 20, 1981F28 mi3.6 mi0 / 0
Apr 14, 1974F215 mi0.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 26, 2023EF111 mi1.38 mi0 / 0
Oct 31, 2019EF111 mi4.87 mi0 / 0
May 28, 2019EF17 mi1.25 mi0 / 0
Jul 25, 2016EF121 mi3.49 mi0 / 0
Oct 7, 2013EF124 mi1.25 mi0 / 0
Sep 7, 1998F122 mi0.2 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 50, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Dover while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in New Jersey