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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Roselle, 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 Roselle, New Jersey since 1851, 8 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 57 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
8

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
36

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
57

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
2

1 deaths in all

What the records show for Roselle

The strongest storm to pass near Roselle was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 121 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 19 miles. The record near Roselle begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 30 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 5 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 44 systems, 7 have come since 2000. Roselle has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 53% of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site. The highest rating among the 57 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 26, 1977, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an EF1 on September 16, 2010, killed 1 person. Of the 57, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on June 26, 2023. Roselle has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 56% of the 455 New Jersey cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1967, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Roselle has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 455 New Jersey cities.

Compare Roselle's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Roselle

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Roselle, New Jersey, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 230 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 961 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020IsaiasAug 447 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1131 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 861 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2011IreneAug 2814 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 725 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
1999FloydSep 1637 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1314 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2748 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2470 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1050 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2234 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2811 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1150 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1545 miTropical storm (62 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1262 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3026 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1955DianeAug 198 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1952AbleSep 133 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 2
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2171 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 861 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1924 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3011 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1759 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 415 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1559 miCategory 1 (78 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1645 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1661 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1438 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1899Unnamed 1899 stormNov 145 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 2
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2464 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1058 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2944 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2419 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1139 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2237 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 2452 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 553 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2918 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2621 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 309 miTropical storm (60 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 192 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2824 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1

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

By decade

  • 2020s5
  • 2010s9
  • 2000s6
  • 1990s12
  • 1980s12
  • 1970s8(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Roselle, New Jersey
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Sep 26, 1977F318 mi5.9 mi0 / 0
May 28, 1973F316 mi0.4 mi0 / 0
Aug 8, 2007EF213 mi3.92 mi0 / 9
May 27, 2001F220 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Aug 7, 1962F222 mi2.5 mi0 / 0
Sep 16, 2010EF123 mi4 mi1 / 1
Jun 26, 2023EF117 mi1.38 mi0 / 0
Oct 31, 2019EF110 mi4.87 mi0 / 0
Jul 25, 2016EF122 mi3.49 mi0 / 0
Oct 7, 2013EF121 mi1.25 mi0 / 0
Sep 8, 2012EF119 mi4.74 mi0 / 0
Aug 8, 2007EF18 mi1.95 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 57, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Roselle

The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Roselle since 1967, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently May 28, 2019. The most recent report is from July 3, 2025. July has the most reports, 31.

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

Radar-estimated hail days in Roselle since 2019 →

Weather by month in Roselle

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cranford, NJ, 3 miles west of Roselle at 80 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 25°F. July is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 50.4 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 50.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 44 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (20); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 111 nights a year. Snowfall averages 26.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 50.4 inches is more than at 35 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (69%). Elizabeth, 3 miles east, has its own station (Newark International Airport, NJ): 46.6 inches a year, 3.8 less than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station The Battery, NY, 13 miles east, averaged 74°F in August and 39°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Bergen Point tide gauge, 6 miles from Roselle, has risen 1.86 ± 0.13 inches per decade from 1981 to 2024, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 18.6 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 114 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Cranford, NJ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan40253.777.041
Feb43273.368.239
Mar51334.475.042
Apr63434.170.349
May72534.280.058
Jun81624.570.066
Jul86685.370.073
Aug84664.170.074
Sep77594.360.072
Oct66474.460.065
Nov55383.660.156
Dec45314.575.746
Year634650.48126.357

Averages for 1991–2020 at Cranford, NJ (80 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.

New Jersey weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Roselle

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 805 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Roselle: 411 thunderstorm wind reports, 287 flash floods, 72 floods, 28 lightning strikes and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 19 people and injured 28, and the NWS estimated $127.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on June 10, 2008. July has had the most flash floods, 107 of 287. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 368 have had fewer than Roselle.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Roselle — 4 killed.

  • August 28, 2011: flood 9 miles from the centre of Roselle — 2 killed.

  • September 1, 2021: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Roselle — 2 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

Flood insurance policyholders in Roselle's ZIP code 07203 have filed 500 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $8.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 74 claims (15% of all) and $608,000, then Hurricane Ida in 2021 with 57 and April 2007 Nor'easter in 2007 with 35. 56% 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, 329 have fewer than Roselle.

Flood insurance claims in Roselle by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Irene201174$608,000
Hurricane Ida202157$909,000
April 2007 Nor'easter200735$171,000
Hurricane Floyd199931$203,000
March 2010 Nor'easter201031$112,000
Flooding199624$413,000

Union County, which includes Roselle, has been named in 30 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 hurricanes, 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Union County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind and lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes, coastal flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $163.1 million a year, the 10th highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $116.7 million (72%), 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 Roselle