Historical record — not a forecast
Portland
Portland, ME has had 17 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1869, Category 2 Hurricane).
Location 01
Portland
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The historical record
Storm history
17 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Portland 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
- 11
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1860s
- 2
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 2
- 1900s
- 2
- 1910s
- 1
- 1930s
- 1
- 1950s
- 1
- 1960s
- 2
- 1980s
- 1
- 1990s
- 2
- 2000s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1869, Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt) passed within 10.1 km in 1869
- Most recent
- Cindy (2005, Tropical Depression, 30 kt) passed within 49.4 km in 2005
- Coordinates
- 43.63316, -70.18530
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 10.1 km on 1869-10-04
- Bob (1991) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 50.6 km on 1991-08-20
- Unnamed storm (1961) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 52.4 km on 1961-09-15
- Unnamed storm (1896) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 30.5 km on 1896-09-11
- Unnamed storm (1861) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 43.4 km on 1861-11-03
- Floyd (1999) — Tropical Storm, 45 kt, passed within 49.9 km on 1999-09-17
- Unnamed storm (1916) — Tropical Storm, 45 kt, passed within 72.5 km on 1916-07-21
- Esther (1961) — Tropical Storm, 35 kt, passed within 29.5 km on 1961-09-26
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 14.6 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 175.0 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Portland?
Since 1851, 17 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Portland, ME, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Portland?
an unnamed storm (1869, Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt) passed within 10.1 km in 1869, reaching Category 2 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Portland?
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.