Hurricanes in Puerto Rico
Hurricanes only occur occasionally in Puerto Rico. On average, they happen about 4 times a year. The hardest hit regions are West and East.The hurricane season usually lasts from early June to late November.
The most severe hurricane to make landfall in Puerto Rico in the past 12 months was »Fiona«. It reached a wind speed of up to 157 km/h on September 19, 2022 at 2:00 pm local time near Rincón and was 91 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 2 hurricane. On the open sea, speeds of up to 222 km/h were measured (category 4).
Other natural hazards in Puerto Rico:
› Tsunamis
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Back to overview: Puerto Rico
Current satellite image of the North Atlantic
04.06.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent hurricanes in Puerto Rico since 2018
Nicole: November 6-11, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
North
North
Nicole: November 5-11, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
West
North
West
North
Lisa: October 27 to November 5, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Ian: September 22 to October 1, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 259 km/h
Diameter:
max. 845 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in Puerto Rico. On September 23rd, 2022 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 361 km south of Pole Ojea in West.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Rincón in Caribbean Netherlands on September 22nd at 11:00 pm.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Rincón in Caribbean Netherlands on September 22nd at 11:00 pm.
Ian: September 19 to October 2, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Fiona: September 14-27, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 222 km/h
on land:
max. 157 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1241 km
Air pressure:
below 931 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
East
South
West
East
South
West
Fiona: September 12-24, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 213 km/h
on land:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Eye:
max. 74 km
Air pressure:
below 932 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
South
West
South
West
Earl: September 2-15, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 176 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1308 km
Air pressure:
below 948 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in Puerto Rico. On September 4th, 2022 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 105 km northwest of Culebra in East.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Codrington in Antigua and Barbuda on September 2nd at 11:00 pm.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Codrington in Antigua and Barbuda on September 2nd at 11:00 pm.
Earl: August 27 to September 10, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 167 km/h
Diameter:
max. 444 km
Air pressure:
below 954 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 2
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in Puerto Rico. On September 4th, 2022 at 2:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 82 km north of Culebra in East.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Brades in Montserrat on September 2nd at 11:00 pm.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Brades in Montserrat on September 2nd at 11:00 pm.
Sam: September 22 to October 7, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
Diameter:
max. 2222 km
Air pressure:
below 927 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in Puerto Rico. On September 30th, 2021 at 2:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 512 km northwest of Culebra in East.
Peter: September 19-22, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 83 km/h
on land:
max. 78 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 1005 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
East
Metro
North
East
Metro
North
Grace: August 13-21, 2021
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 194 km/h
on land:
max. 59 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 967 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
East
South
West
East
South
West
Fred: August 9-20, 2021
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
on land:
max. 74 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 991 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
East
South
West
East
South
West
Elsa: June 30 to July 10, 2021
Region:
Caribbean Sea
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 Puerto Rico. On July 3rd, 2021 at 2:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 101 km south of Pole Ojea in West.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Sainte-Luce in Martinique on July 2nd at 11:00 am.
Instead, the first landfall occurred near Sainte-Luce in Martinique on July 2nd at 11:00 am.
Iota: November 12-18, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
on land:
max. 46 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1000 km
Air pressure:
below 917 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
West
West
Laura: August 20-29, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 241 km/h
on land:
max. 83 km/h
Diameter:
max. 741 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
Affected regions
East
South
West
East
South
West
Josephine: August 10-16, 2020
Wind speed:
max. 74 km/h
on land:
max. 56 km/h
Diameter:
max. 556 km
Air pressure:
below 1004 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
Affected regions
East
East
Isaias: July 28 to August 5, 2020
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 148 km/h
on land:
max. 115 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1111 km
Air pressure:
below 986 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
East
South
West
East
South
West
Dorian: August 24 to September 5, 2019
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 296 km/h
on land:
max. 133 km/h
Diameter:
max. 111 km
Eye:
max. 56 km
Air pressure:
below 910 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 5
Affected regions
East
East
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.
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