NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Little Ferry, 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
45 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Little Ferry, New Jersey since 1851, 7 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 53 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 7
- Tropical storms
- 38
- Tornadoes
- 53
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Little Ferry
The strongest storm to pass near Little Ferry was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds when its centre passed 60 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1893, whose centre came within 10 miles. The record near Little Ferry begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 39 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 45 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site, 46% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Little Ferry. The strongest of the 53 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 28, 1973; its path came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on September 16, 2010, killed 1 person. Of the 53, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 17 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on November 13, 2021. Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Little Ferry. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 105 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Little Ferry has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 455 New Jersey cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Little Ferry
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 9 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 8 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | GloriaSep 27 | 42 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1985 | HenriSep 24 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 22 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | Unnamed 1968 stormSep 11 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1961 | Unnamed 1961 stormSep 15 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 12 | 58 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormSep 15 | 75 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1938 | Unnamed 1938 stormSep 21 | 60 mi | Category 3 (120 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormSep 9 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 17 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormSep 15 | 62 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 16 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 24 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 10 | 56 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 10 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 11 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 24 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 5 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Little Ferry: 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 Little Ferry
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s10
- 2000s5
- 1990s12
- 1980s11
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s1
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 2007 | EF2 | 15 mi | 3.92 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jul 12, 2006 | F2 | 18 mi | 10.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 7, 1998 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 15, 1970 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1962 | F2 | 6 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 6, 1956 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2010 | EF1 | 13 mi | 4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Oct 31, 2019 | EF1 | 19 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 7, 2013 | EF1 | 6 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 8, 2012 | EF1 | 17 mi | 4.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 25, 2010 | EF1 | 8 mi | 0.87 mi | 0 / 7 |
The strongest 12 of 53, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Little Ferry
The Storm Prediction Center has 105 hail reports within 10 miles of Little Ferry since 1962, made on 63 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 8, 2021. The most recent report is from September 8, 2023. July has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Little Ferry
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Teterboro Airport, NJ, 1 mile west of Little Ferry at 9 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 26°F. July is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 46.4 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 46.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 45 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (21); a normal September there has highs of 78°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 89 nights a year. That 46.4 inches is more than at 15 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (29%). Fairview, 3 miles southeast, has its own station (New York Cntrl Pk Twr, NY): 49.6 inches a year, 3.2 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station The Battery, NY, 11 miles south, averaged 74°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the The Battery tide gauge, 11 miles from Little Ferry, has risen 1.16 ± 0.02 inches per decade from 1856 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 11.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 66 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 26 | 3.3 | 6 | 41 |
| Feb | 43 | 27 | 2.8 | 6 | 39 |
| Mar | 51 | 34 | 4.1 | 7 | 42 |
| Apr | 63 | 44 | 4.0 | 6 | 49 |
| May | 73 | 53 | 3.9 | 8 | 58 |
| Jun | 82 | 63 | 4.3 | 8 | 66 |
| Jul | 87 | 69 | 4.5 | 6 | 73 |
| Aug | 85 | 67 | 4.3 | 7 | 74 |
| Sep | 78 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 | 72 |
| Oct | 67 | 48 | 3.7 | 6 | 65 |
| Nov | 56 | 38 | 3.3 | 5 | 56 |
| Dec | 45 | 31 | 4.1 | 7 | 46 |
| Year | 64 | 47 | 46.4 | 76 | 57 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Teterboro Airport, NJ (9 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station The Battery, NY, 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.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Little Ferry
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 972 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Little Ferry: 419 flash floods, 406 thunderstorm wind reports, 107 floods, 37 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 15 people and injured 41, and the NWS estimated $318.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on October 7, 2013. July has had the most flash floods, 128 of 419. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 445 have had fewer than Little Ferry.
August 28, 2011: flood 9 miles from the centre of Little Ferry — 2 killed.
May 14, 2017: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Little Ferry — 1 killed, 6 injured, $2,000 damage.
September 7, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Little Ferry — 1 killed, 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 Little Ferry's ZIP code 07643 have filed 1,752 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $43.5 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 921 claims (53% of all) and $32.5 million, then Hurricane Irene in 2011 with 327 and December Storm - Nor'easter in 1992 with 120. 92% 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, 366 have fewer than Little Ferry.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sandy2012 | 921 | $32.5 million |
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 327 | $6.9 million |
| December Storm - Nor'easter1992 | 120 | $1.1 million |
| Hurricane Ida2021 | 90 | $1.5 million |
| April 2007 Nor'easter2007 | 51 | $532,000 |
| Flooding1996 | 32 | $218,000 |
Bergen County, which includes Little Ferry, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Bergen County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding and strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $321.8 million a year, the highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $216.8 million (67%), 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 Little Ferry
- South Hackensack, NJunder 1 mi
- Ridgefield Park, NJ1 mi
- Moonachie, NJ1 mi
- Bogota, NJ2 mi
- Hasbrouck Heights, NJ2 mi
- Ridgefield, NJ2 mi
- Wood Ridge, NJ2 mi
- Palisades Park, NJ2 mi
- Carlstadt, NJ2 mi
- Hackensack, NJ3 mi
- Lodi, NJ3 mi
- Leonia, NJ3 mi
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