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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Orleans, MA

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

58 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Orleans, Massachusetts since 1851, 15 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Wanda in 2021. Since 1950, 6 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
15

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
43

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
6

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Orleans

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Orleans, Massachusetts, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021WandaOct 2739 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
2021IdaSep 228 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 948 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
2013AndreaJun 846 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2008HannaSep 757 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 458 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2006BerylJul 2121 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
2004HermineAug 3151 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1997DannyJul 2575 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1996JosephineOct 915 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1991BobAug 1951 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1988AlbertoAug 750 miTropical storm (39 mph)Tropical storm
1972CarrieSep 431 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1971HeidiSep 1461 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1969GerdaSep 952 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 3
1966AlmaJun 1431 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1962AlmaAug 2959 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 1
1961EstherSep 2611 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 5
1959CindyJul 1125 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 2054 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1954EdnaSep 1110 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 3
1953Unnamed 1953 stormJul 1571 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1952Unnamed 1952 stormFeb 423 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2132 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1550 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 5
1940Unnamed 1940 stormSep 268 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 2
1936Unnamed 1936 stormSep 1960 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 203 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 2
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1740 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1924Unnamed 1924 stormAug 2628 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 3
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1939 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1917Unnamed 1917 stormAug 1039 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 2150 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3031 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1523 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1767 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 1036 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 171 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1891Unnamed 1891 stormOct 1452 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 258 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormNov 2749 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1243 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 269 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1259 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2248 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 3
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 2127 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2338 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 1
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1258 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormSep 1148 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1880Unnamed 1880 stormOct 239 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 199 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2461 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 52 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
1875Unnamed 1875 stormOct 1543 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2726 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1871Unnamed 1871 stormAug 3057 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1869Unnamed 1869 stormOct 421 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 2
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 2172 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Orleans: 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 Orleans

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s3
  • 1970s1
Strongest tornadoes near Orleans, Massachusetts
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 23, 2019EF113 mi5.52 mi0 / 0
Jul 23, 2019EF117 mi0.25 mi0 / 0
Jul 23, 2019EF16 mi2.77 mi0 / 0
Aug 22, 1977F118 mi0.1 mi0 / 2
Aug 8, 2023EF022 mi1.2 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF013 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 6 of 6, 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 Orleans 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 Massachusetts