NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sussex, 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
31 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Sussex, New Jersey since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 29
- Tornadoes
- 24
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Sussex
The strongest storm to pass near Sussex was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 45 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1878, whose centre came within 41 miles. The record near Sussex begins with an unnamed storm in 1861; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 74 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1970s, with 4 systems. Of the 31 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site, 93% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Sussex. The highest rating among the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1998, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on November 16, 1989, killed 9 people. Of the 24, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 6 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on August 19, 2021. Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sussex. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1975, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sussex.
Compare Sussex's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sussex
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | IdaSep 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | IsaiasAug 4 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | FayJul 11 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2011 | IreneAug 28 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2008 | HannaSep 7 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1999 | FloydSep 17 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1996 | BerthaJul 13 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 6 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1976 | BelleAug 10 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 22 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1971 | DoriaAug 28 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | BrendaJul 30 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1955 | DianeAug 19 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1952 | AbleSep 1 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 29 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormJun 19 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 30 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 4 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 16 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 14 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormNov 1 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 29 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 24 | 45 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 22 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 23 | 41 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 29 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 26 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1866 | Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1863 | Unnamed 1863 stormSep 19 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormSep 28 | 60 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 Sussex: 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 Sussex
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8(1 EF3+)
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | F3 | 14 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 14, 1988 | F3 | 8 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 23, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 25.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2009 | EF2 | 3 mi | 6.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1974 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F1 | 22 mi | 9.1 mi | 9 / 18 |
| May 28, 2019 | EF1 | 22 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 2011 | EF1 | 20 mi | 4.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1997 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1994 | F1 | 21 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 16, 1989 | F1 | 24 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sussex
The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Sussex since 1975, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 10 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on July 19, 1987. The most recent report is from July 13, 2023. July has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sussex
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sussex Airport, NJ, 2 miles southwest of Sussex at 421 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 36°F and 18°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.9 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 56% of the year's precipitation (22.7 of 40.9 inches); the other six months are drier. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 135 nights a year. That 40.9 inches is more than at 0 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (0%). Westtown, NY, 8 miles north, has its own station (Port Jervis, NY): 47.2 inches a year, 6.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 18 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Feb | 39 | 20 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Mar | 48 | 27 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Apr | 61 | 37 | 3.4 | 6 |
| May | 71 | 47 | 3.7 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 56 | 3.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 61 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Sep | 75 | 51 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Oct | 64 | 40 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Nov | 51 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 41 | 24 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Year | 61 | 39 | 40.9 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sussex Airport, NJ (421 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 Sussex
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sussex: 125 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 8 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 11, and the NWS estimated $303,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 29, 2011. September has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 8 have had fewer than Sussex.
August 16, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sussex — 1 killed.
July 8, 2025: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Sussex — 1 killed.
August 4, 2001: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Sussex — 6 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 Sussex's ZIP code 07461 have filed 28 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $412,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 12 claims (43% of all) and $226,000. 57% 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, 81 have fewer than Sussex.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Irene2011 | 12 | $226,000 |
Sussex County, which includes Sussex, 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 Sussex County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $58.7 million a year, the 18th highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.3 million (47%), 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.