Historical record — not a forecast
San Juan
San Juan, PR has had 28 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1928, Category 5 Hurricane).
Location 01
San Juan
Drag to explore · scroll to zoom · select a marker
The historical record
Storm history
28 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of San Juan 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
- 10
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 3
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 4 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 5 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1860s
- 1
- 1870s
- 1
- 1890s
- 2
- 1900s
- 1
- 1910s
- 2
- 1920s
- 1
- 1930s
- 2
- 1940s
- 1
- 1950s
- 3
- 1970s
- 4
- 1980s
- 2
- 1990s
- 2
- 2000s
- 3
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1928, Category 5 Hurricane, 140 kt) passed within 48.2 km in 1928
- Most recent
- Ernesto (2024, Tropical Storm, 60 kt) passed within 66.5 km in 2024
- Coordinates
- 18.40456, -66.06375
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1928) — Category 5 Hurricane, 140 kt, passed within 48.2 km on 1928-09-13
- Maria (2017) — Category 4 Hurricane, 135 kt, passed within 26.9 km on 2017-09-20
- Unnamed storm (1899) — Category 4 Hurricane, 120 kt, passed within 47.2 km on 1899-08-08
- Hugo (1989) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 50.3 km on 1989-09-18
- Georges (1998) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 33.8 km on 1998-09-22
- Unnamed storm (1932) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 26.9 km on 1932-09-27
- Unnamed storm (1893) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 48.2 km on 1893-08-17
- Marilyn (1995) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 71.8 km on 1995-09-16
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 7.3 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 12.5 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 25.0 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near San Juan?
Since 1851, 28 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of San Juan, PR, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect San Juan?
an unnamed storm (1928, Category 5 Hurricane, 140 kt) passed within 48.2 km in 1928, reaching Category 5 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for San Juan?
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.