Historical record — not a forecast
Portsmouth
Portsmouth, NH has had 16 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1869, Category 1 Hurricane).
Location 01
Portsmouth
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The historical record
Storm history
16 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Portsmouth 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
- 3
- Tropical Storm
- 11
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 2
By decade
- 1860s
- 1
- 1870s
- 1
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 2
- 1910s
- 2
- 1920s
- 1
- 1950s
- 2
- 1960s
- 2
- 1990s
- 1
- 2000s
- 2
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1869, Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt) passed within 38.9 km in 1869
- Most recent
- Fred (2021, Tropical Depression, 25 kt) passed within 54.3 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 43.06059, -70.78035
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Carol (1954) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 50.5 km on 1954-08-31
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 38.9 km on 1869-09-09
- Donna (1960) — Tropical Storm, 60 kt, passed within 44.8 km on 1960-09-13
- Unnamed storm (1916) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 19.1 km on 1916-05-17
- Unnamed storm (1896) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 23.8 km on 1896-09-11
- Unnamed storm (1878) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 53.5 km on 1878-10-24
- Floyd (1999) — Tropical Storm, 45 kt, passed within 30.4 km on 1999-09-17
- Unnamed storm (1923) — Tropical Storm, 45 kt, passed within 64.9 km on 1923-10-19
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 13.5 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 87.5 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Portsmouth?
Since 1851, 16 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Portsmouth, NH, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Portsmouth?
an unnamed storm (1869, Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt) passed within 38.9 km in 1869, reaching Category 1 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Portsmouth?
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.