Historical record — not a forecast

Falmouth

Falmouth, MA has had 27 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane).

MA27 storms since 18518 at hurricane strength or higher
Noir atlas

Location 01

Falmouth

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The historical record

Storm history

27 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Falmouth since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.

By storm category

Tropical Depression
5
Tropical Storm
14
Category 1 Hurricane
5
Category 2 Hurricane
3

By decade

1860s
1
1870s
3
1880s
2
1890s
1
1900s
2
1910s
2
1920s
1
1930s
1
1940s
1
1950s
2
1960s
2
1990s
2
2000s
4
2010s
1
2020s
2

Strongest & most recent

Strongest on record
Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 19.1 km in 1954
Most recent
Henri (2021, Tropical Depression, 20 kt) passed within 62.5 km in 2021
Coordinates
41.55139, -70.60885
Basin
atlantic

Notable storms on record

  • Edna (1954) Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 19.1 km on 1954-09-11
  • Unnamed storm (1869) Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 24.0 km on 1869-10-04
  • Bob (1991) Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 68.0 km on 1991-08-19
  • Unnamed storm (1904) Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 56.1 km on 1904-09-15
  • Unnamed storm (1896) Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 39.1 km on 1896-09-10
  • Unnamed storm (1888) Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 51.9 km on 1888-09-26
  • Unnamed storm (1879) Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 23.2 km on 1879-08-19
  • Unnamed storm (1944) Category 1 Hurricane, 65 kt, passed within 59.5 km on 1944-09-15

Historical return intervals

These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.

Tropical storm strength or greater
on average every 8.0 years, historically
Hurricane strength
on average every 21.9 years, historically
Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Falmouth?

Since 1851, 27 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Falmouth, MA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.

What was the strongest storm to affect Falmouth?

Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 19.1 km in 1954, reaching Category 2 Hurricane strength.

Is this a hurricane forecast for Falmouth?

No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.