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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Orange, MA

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

40 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Orange, Massachusetts since 1851, 6 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Irene in 2011. Since 1950, 56 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
6

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
34

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
56

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

97 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Orange

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Orange, Massachusetts, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2011IreneAug 2835 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 757 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 473 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 1731 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1439 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 272 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1976BelleAug 106 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1971DoriaAug 2817 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1120 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1534 miTropical storm (66 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1241 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3018 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1954CarolAug 3136 miCategory 2 (100 mph)Category 3
1952AbleSep 23 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 2
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2966 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2137 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 917 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormOct 137 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
1923Unnamed 1923 stormOct 1961 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1744 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 548 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3152 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1762 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 138 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2450 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1035 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2923 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2442 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1264 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2254 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 2415 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 2
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 3023 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2772 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1869Unnamed 1869 stormSep 854 miCategory 2 (99 mph)Category 3
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3064 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1974 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 355 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2823 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1642 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormOct 1954 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s5
  • 2000s3
  • 1990s5
  • 1980s7(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s11(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Orange, Massachusetts
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 9, 1953F411 mi34.9 mi94 / 1228
Oct 3, 1970F319 mi35.4 mi1 / 0
Jun 22, 1981F315 mi7.1 mi0 / 3
May 20, 1963F323 mi14 mi0 / 0
Aug 10, 1979F221 mi9.7 mi2 / 2
Jul 11, 2006F26 mi2.9 mi0 / 0
Aug 27, 1972F213 mi1 mi0 / 0
Aug 9, 1972F29 mi9.7 mi0 / 1
Jun 6, 1969F221 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Aug 13, 1963F217 mi2 mi0 / 0
May 20, 1963F219 mi3.8 mi0 / 0
May 20, 1963F219 mi0.1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 56, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Orange while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Massachusetts