Historical record — not a forecast
Nantucket
Nantucket, MA has had 31 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Gerda (1969, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
Nantucket
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The historical record
Storm history
31 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Nantucket 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
- 4
- Tropical Storm
- 16
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 8
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1860s
- 1
- 1870s
- 1
- 1880s
- 3
- 1890s
- 3
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 2
- 1950s
- 4
- 1960s
- 4
- 1970s
- 1
- 1990s
- 1
- 2000s
- 4
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Gerda (1969, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 71.5 km in 1969
- Most recent
- Wanda (2021, Tropical Storm, 60 kt) passed within 59.8 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 41.27145, -70.09588
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Gerda (1969) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 71.5 km on 1969-09-09
- Edna (1954) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 36.6 km on 1954-09-11
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 33.9 km on 1869-10-04
- Unnamed storm (1924) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 44.7 km on 1924-08-26
- Unnamed storm (1888) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 71.7 km on 1888-11-27
- Esther (1961) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 17.3 km on 1961-09-26
- Alma (1962) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 65.6 km on 1962-08-29
- Unnamed storm (1896) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 42.9 km on 1896-09-10
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 6.5 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 15.9 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Nantucket?
Since 1851, 31 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Nantucket, MA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Nantucket?
Gerda (1969, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 71.5 km in 1969, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Nantucket?
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.