Historical record — not a forecast
New Bedford
New Bedford, MA has had 28 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1869, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
New Bedford
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The historical record
Storm history
28 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Bedford 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
- 2
- Tropical Storm
- 18
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 3
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1860s
- 3
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 1
- 1900s
- 4
- 1910s
- 2
- 1920s
- 1
- 1930s
- 1
- 1940s
- 1
- 1950s
- 2
- 1960s
- 2
- 1990s
- 2
- 2000s
- 3
- 2020s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1869, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 69.8 km in 1869
- Most recent
- Henri (2021, Tropical Depression, 20 kt) passed within 34.3 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 41.66130, -70.93791
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 69.8 km on 1869-09-08
- Edna (1954) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 46.6 km on 1954-09-11
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 44.9 km on 1869-10-04
- Bob (1991) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 48.2 km on 1991-08-19
- Unnamed storm (1944) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 38.0 km on 1944-09-15
- Unnamed storm (1904) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 64.9 km on 1904-09-15
- Unnamed storm (1896) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 42.5 km on 1896-09-10
- Unnamed storm (1879) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 31.2 km on 1879-08-19
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 6.7 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 21.9 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near New Bedford?
Since 1851, 28 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of New Bedford, MA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect New Bedford?
an unnamed storm (1869, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 69.8 km in 1869, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for New Bedford?
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.