Historical record — not a forecast
Provincetown
Provincetown, MA has had 20 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane).
Location 01
Provincetown
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The historical record
Storm history
20 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Provincetown 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
- 6
- Tropical Storm
- 9
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 3
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 2
By decade
- 1860s
- 1
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 1
- 1890s
- 1
- 1900s
- 2
- 1910s
- 1
- 1940s
- 1
- 1950s
- 2
- 1960s
- 2
- 2000s
- 3
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 2
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 18.6 km in 1954
- Most recent
- Henri (2021, Tropical Depression, 20 kt) passed within 50.3 km in 2021
- Coordinates
- 42.05642, -70.17857
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Edna (1954) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 18.6 km on 1954-09-11
- Unnamed storm (1869) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 43.7 km on 1869-10-04
- Unnamed storm (1904) — Category 1 Hurricane, 75 kt, passed within 11.8 km on 1904-09-15
- Unnamed storm (1888) — Category 1 Hurricane, 70 kt, passed within 55.8 km on 1888-09-26
- Unnamed storm (1944) — Category 1 Hurricane, 65 kt, passed within 68.1 km on 1944-09-15
- Unnamed storm (1896) — Tropical Storm, 55 kt, passed within 43.5 km on 1896-09-10
- Esther (1961) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 39.7 km on 1961-09-26
- Cindy (1959) — Tropical Storm, 50 kt, passed within 58.6 km on 1959-07-11
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 12.5 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 35.0 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- none on record
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Provincetown?
Since 1851, 20 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Provincetown, MA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Provincetown?
Edna (1954, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 18.6 km in 1954, reaching Category 2 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Provincetown?
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.