Hurricanes in Puerto Rico
Hurricanes occur rarely in Puerto Rico. On average, they happen about once per 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 139 km/h on September 18, 2022 at 2:00 pm local time near Guánica and was 23 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a category 1 hurricane. On the open sea, speeds of up to 213 km/h were measured (category 4).
Other natural hazards in Puerto Rico:
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Current satellite image of the North Atlantic
01.02.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent hurricanes in Puerto Rico since 2018
Nicole: November 5-11, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 120 km/h
on land:
max. 28 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 980 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
Affected regions
West
West
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
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On October 29th, 2022 at 5:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 500 km southeast of Pole Ojea in West.
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
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On September 23rd, 2022 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 484 km south of Pole Ojea in 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
West
West
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. On September 4th, 2022 at 5:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 163 km northwest of Culebra in East.
Dorian: August 24 to September 5, 2019
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 296 km/h
on land:
max. 130 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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