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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Coto Laurel, PR

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

53 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico since 1851, 26 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ernesto in 2024. Since 1950, 2 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
26

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
27

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
2

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Coto Laurel

The strongest storm to pass near Coto Laurel was an unnamed storm in 1928, a Category 4 hurricane with 147 mph winds when its centre passed 12 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Georges in 1998, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Coto Laurel begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Ernesto in 2024, a tropical storm 74 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with 6 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 53 systems, 13 have come since 2000. Of the 86 Puerto Rico cities on this site, 79% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Coto Laurel. The highest rating among the 2 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 25, 2000, came within 19 miles. Of the 86 Puerto Rico cities, 94% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Coto Laurel. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 6 times since 2000, with stones up to 0.75 inches (penny size). Coto Laurel has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 86 Puerto Rico cities.

Compare Coto Laurel's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Coto Laurel

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024ErnestoAug 1474 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
2022FionaSep 1829 miCategory 1 (85 mph)Category 4
2021FredAug 1143 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2020LauraAug 2219 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
2019KarenSep 2468 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2018BerylJul 974 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2017MariaSep 2019 miCategory 3 (125 mph)Category 5
2015ErikaAug 2842 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2014BerthaAug 250 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
2011IreneAug 2232 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 3
2007OlgaDec 1122 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
2004JeanneSep 1512 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
2000DebbyAug 2271 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1998GeorgesSep 226 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 4
1996HortenseSep 1020 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1989HugoSep 1857 miCategory 3 (124 mph)Category 5
1984KlausNov 745 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1981GertSep 832 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1979FredericSep 42 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1961FrancesOct 274 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1956BetsyAug 1215 miCategory 2 (96 mph)Category 3
1953DollySep 845 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1950BakerAug 2330 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormSep 2163 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 1
1949Unnamed 1949 stormSep 372 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 3
1945Unnamed 1945 stormAug 373 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1943Unnamed 1943 stormOct 1472 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 2
1940Unnamed 1940 stormAug 672 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1938Unnamed 1938 stormAug 972 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 279 miCategory 3 (112 mph)Category 4
1931Unnamed 1931 stormSep 1130 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 2
1930Unnamed 1930 stormSep 246 miCategory 3 (115 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 1312 miCategory 4 (147 mph)Category 5
1926Unnamed 1926 stormJul 2329 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 4
1919Unnamed 1919 stormSep 318 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 4
1916Unnamed 1916 stormAug 2210 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1916Unnamed 1916 stormJul 1342 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1910Unnamed 1910 stormSep 736 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 2
1909Unnamed 1909 stormAug 2243 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 3
1901Unnamed 1901 stormSep 1228 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1901Unnamed 1901 stormJul 730 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 138 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1899Unnamed 1899 stormAug 88 miCategory 4 (133 mph)Category 4
1898Unnamed 1898 stormOct 2846 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 111 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 1714 miCategory 2 (109 mph)Category 3
1891Unnamed 1891 stormAug 2051 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormNov 2811 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
1876Unnamed 1876 stormSep 137 miCategory 2 (96 mph)Category 3
1867Unnamed 1867 stormOct 3016 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 3
1855Unnamed 1855 stormAug 2659 miTropical storm (69 mph)Tropical storm
1852Unnamed 1852 stormSep 59 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1851Unnamed 1851 stormAug 1849 miCategory 2 (104 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Coto Laurel: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Coto Laurel

By decade

  • 2000s1
  • 1950s1
Strongest tornadoes near Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 25, 2000F019 mi1 mi0 / 0
Jul 28, 1959F019 mi0.2 mi0 / 0

The strongest 2 of 2, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Coto Laurel

The Storm Prediction Center has 6 hail reports within 10 miles of Coto Laurel since 2000. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest size, 0.75 inches (penny size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 27, 2014. The most recent report is from May 11, 2017.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Coto Laurel

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ponce 4 E, PR RQ, 4 miles southeast of Coto Laurel at 70 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 69°F; February is the coolest, at 88°F and 62°F. September is the wettest at 6.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 37.6 inches over 60 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 69% of the year's precipitation (25.8 of 37.6 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 53 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (23); a normal September there has highs of 91°F and 6.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 210 days a year. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 37.6 inches is more than at 0 of the 21 Puerto Rico stations used on this site (0%). Jayuya, 10 miles north, has its own station (Dos Bocas, PR RQ): 78.2 inches a year, 40.6 more than here, and an August average high of 91°F against 92°F.

Sea level at the Magueyes Island tide gauge, 33 miles from Coto Laurel, has risen 0.81 ± 0.06 inches per decade from 1955 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 8.1 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 41 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Ponce 4 E, PR RQ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan88630.72
Feb88621.22
Mar88631.94
Apr89652.35
May90674.26
Jun91692.24
Jul92692.85
Aug92694.66
Sep91696.98
Oct91685.48
Nov90663.96
Dec88641.53
Year906637.660

Averages for 1991–2020 at Ponce 4 E, PR RQ (70 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Coto Laurel

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 156 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Coto Laurel: 60 flash floods, 60 floods, 22 heavy rain events, 10 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 5 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $502.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on November 11, 2024. October has had the most flash floods, 17 of 60. Of the 86 Puerto Rico cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Coto Laurel.

  • September 22, 2008: flood 5 miles from the centre of Coto Laurel — 1 killed.

  • October 26, 2012: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Coto Laurel — 1 killed.

  • September 5, 2017: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Coto Laurel — 1 killed.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Ponce Municipio, which includes Coto Laurel, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 hurricanes, 6 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Tropical Storm Ernesto, on November 27, 2024.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Coto Laurel