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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hamilton, NJ

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

44 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hamilton, New Jersey since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
7

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
37

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
77

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

2 deaths in all

What the records show for Hamilton

The strongest storm to pass near Hamilton was Donna in 1960, a Category 2 hurricane with 98 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 42 miles. The record near Hamilton begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 10 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 44 systems, 8 have come since 2000. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site, 46% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Hamilton. The highest rating among the 77 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 29, 2021, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on September 1, 2021, killed 1 person. Of the 77, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on June 14, 2024. Hamilton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 455 New Jersey cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 85 times since 1964, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Hamilton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 455 New Jersey cities.

Compare Hamilton's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hamilton

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Hamilton, New Jersey, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 210 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 957 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 437 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1021 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 859 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3044 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2829 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 718 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1644 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 139 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2758 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 4
1976BelleAug 1066 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2265 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2820 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1167 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1547 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1271 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3030 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 1915 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 141 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 368 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 198 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 371 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3021 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1759 miTropical storm (54 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 427 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1550 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1614 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1661 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1449 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 143 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2468 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1062 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2948 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2442 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1135 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2257 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2447 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 543 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2919 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2619 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3028 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 196 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2827 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hamilton: 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 Hamilton

By decade

  • 2020s23(1 EF3+)
  • 2010s9
  • 2000s7
  • 1990s14(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s8
  • 1970s3(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6
Strongest tornadoes near Hamilton, New Jersey
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 29, 2021EF314 mi3.4 mi0 / 0
Oct 18, 1990F318 mi0.5 mi0 / 8
Sep 26, 1977F314 mi5.9 mi0 / 0
Jun 24, 1960F33 mi12.9 mi0 / 0
Sep 1, 2021EF224 mi8.28 mi1 / 2
Apr 1, 2023EF223 mi1.59 mi0 / 0
Apr 1, 2023EF217 mi2.1 mi0 / 0
Feb 21, 2023EF24 mi5.8 mi0 / 0
Jul 29, 2021EF210 mi6.31 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF217 mi20.77 mi0 / 18
May 27, 2001F221 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
May 31, 1998F216 mi5.6 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 77, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Hamilton

The Storm Prediction Center has 85 hail reports within 10 miles of Hamilton since 1964, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 29, 1995. The most recent report is from April 1, 2023. July has the most reports, 29.

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

Weather by month in Hamilton

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Trenton State College, NJ, 6 miles northwest of Hamilton at 100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 23°F. July is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 47.3 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (25.1 of 47.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 44 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (17); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 109 nights a year. That 47.3 inches is more than at 19 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (37%). Chesterfield, 5 miles southeast, has its own station (Hightstown 2 W, NJ): 47.6 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 87°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Newbold, PA, 6 miles southwest, averaged 80°F in July and 37°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July. Sea level at the Philadelphia tide gauge, 31 miles from Hamilton, has risen 1.24 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1900 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 12.4 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 73 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Trenton State College, NJ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Water °F
Jan40233.6737
Feb43242.8538
Mar51314.4845
Apr63413.6754
May73503.5764
Jun82594.7773
Jul87654.8680
Aug84634.3678
Sep78564.1772
Oct66444.0561
Nov55353.2649
Dec45264.3739
Year644347.37658

Averages for 1991–2020 at Trenton State College, NJ (100 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Newbold, PA, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

New Jersey weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Hamilton

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 446 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hamilton: 323 thunderstorm wind reports, 48 flash floods, 32 floods, 23 lightning strikes and 20 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 15, and the NWS estimated $21.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 79 mph, on October 4, 2000. July has had the most flash floods, 17 of 48. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 177 have had fewer than Hamilton.

  • July 15, 2012: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 6 injured, $250,000 damage.

  • October 4, 2000: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 3 injured, $350,000 damage.

  • July 23, 2008: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Hamilton — 2 injured.

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

Flood insurance policyholders in Hamilton's 3 ZIP codes have filed 316 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $4.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 57 claims (18% of all) and $2.6 million, then Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 34 and April 2007 Nor'easter in 2007 with 23. 55% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 395 New Jersey cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 301 have fewer than Hamilton.

Flood insurance claims in Hamilton by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Irene201157$2.6 million
Hurricane Floyd199934$317,000
April 2007 Nor'easter200723$100,000
Not a named storm197918$85,000
Hurricane Ida202117$451,000
Flooding199611$51,000

Mercer County, which includes Hamilton, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mercer County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for hurricanes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and heat waves; Relatively Low for coastal flooding; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $176.2 million a year, the 8th highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $113.6 million (64%), is from inland flooding.

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).

Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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 Hamilton