Hurricanes in the Bahamas
Hurricanes occurfrequently in the Bahamas. On average, they happen about 7 times a year. The hardest hit regions are West Grand Bahama, Bimini and San Salvador.The hurricane season usually lasts from early June to late November.
The most severe hurricane to make landfall in the Bahamas in the past 12 months was »Ian«. It reached a wind speed of up to 259 km/h on September 28, 2022 at 8:00 am local time near Alice Town and was 119 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 5 hurricane.
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Current satellite image of the North Atlantic
05.06.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent hurricanes in the Bahamas since 2018
Nicole: November 6-11, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Central Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Central Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
Nicole: November 5-11, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Central Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Central Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
Ian: September 22 to October 1, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 259 km/h
Diameter:
max. 845 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Affected regions
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
Ian: September 19 to October 2, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Eye:
max. 93 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On September 29th, 2022 at 8:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 185 km northeast of West End in West Grand Bahama.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near San Luis in Cuba on September 27th at 2:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near San Luis in Cuba on September 27th at 2:00 am.
Fiona: September 14-27, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 222 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1241 km
Air pressure:
below 931 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Mayaguana
San Salvador
Fiona: September 12-24, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 213 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 932 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On September 21st, 2022 at 5:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 320 km northwest of Cockburn Town in San Salvador.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Cockburn Town on the Turks and Caicos Islands on September 20th at 5:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Cockburn Town on the Turks and Caicos Islands on September 20th at 5:00 am.
Alex: June 2-6, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
on land:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 667 km
Air pressure:
below 984 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
North Abaco
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
North Abaco
Alex: May 31 to June 6, 2022
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 111 km/h
on land:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 889 km
Air pressure:
below 984 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
North Abaco
Bimini
West Grand Bahama
North Abaco
Ida: August 26 to September 4, 2021
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1778 km
Air pressure:
below 929 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On August 27th, 2021 at 11:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 328 km southeast of Alice Town in Bimini.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near East End on the Cayman Islands on August 26th at 2:00 pm.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near East End on the Cayman Islands on August 26th at 2:00 pm.
Henri: August 15-24, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1111 km
Air pressure:
below 986 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On August 20th, 2021 at 8:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 471 km northwest of Marsh Harbour in Central Abaco.
Grace: August 13-21, 2021
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 194 km/h
on land:
max. 69 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 967 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Inagua
Inagua
Elsa: June 30 to July 10, 2021
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 667 km
Air pressure:
below 991 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On July 6th, 2021 at 8:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 197 km east of Alice Town in Bimini.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Juancho in the Dominican Republic on July 3rd at 8:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Juancho in the Dominican Republic on July 3rd at 8:00 am.
Eta: October 31 to November 14, 2020
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 815 km
Air pressure:
below 922 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
North Andros
Bimini
North Andros
Bimini
Sally: September 11-18, 2020
Region:
Gulf of Mexico
Wind speed:
max. 176 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 965 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
Affected regions
North Andros
Bimini
North Andros
Bimini
Nana: September 1-4, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
Diameter:
max. 444 km
Air pressure:
below 994 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On September 1st, 2020 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 371 km southeast of Matthew Town in Inagua.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Morant Bay in Jamaica on September 1st at 5:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Morant Bay in Jamaica on September 1st at 5:00 am.
Laura: August 20-29, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 741 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
Inagua
Ragged Island
Inagua
Ragged Island
Isaias: July 28 to August 5, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 148 km/h
on land:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1111 km
Air pressure:
below 986 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
Inagua, Crooked Island, Ragged Island, Exuma, North Andros, Bimini, West Grand Bahama
Inagua, Crooked Island, Ragged Island, Exuma, North Andros, Bimini, West Grand Bahama
Arthur: May 16-21, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Air pressure:
below 989 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in the Bahamas. On May 16th, 2020 at 2:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 103 km north of West End in West Grand Bahama.
Humberto: September 12-20, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 204 km/h
on land:
max. 93 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 950 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Crooked Island
Rum Cay
San Salvador
Cat Island
Harbour Island
North Abaco
Crooked Island
Rum Cay
San Salvador
Cat Island
Harbour Island
North Abaco
Dorian: August 24 to September 5, 2019
Wind speed:
max. 296 km/h
on land:
max. 287 km/h
Diameter:
max. 111 km
Eye:
max. 93 km
Air pressure:
below 910 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Affected regions
North Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
North Abaco
East Grand Bahama
West Grand Bahama
These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.