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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waretown, 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

60 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waretown, New Jersey since 1851, 12 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 24 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
12

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
48

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
24

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
1

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Waretown

The strongest storm to pass near Waretown was an unnamed storm in 1938, a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds when its centre passed 70 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1904, whose centre came within 11 miles. The record near Waretown begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 26 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 6 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 60 systems, 13 have come since 2000. Waretown has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 94% of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site. The strongest of the 24 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on July 21, 1983; its path came within 8 miles. Of the 24, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 9. The most recent tornado was on August 10, 2023. Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Waretown. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 28 times since 1975, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waretown.

Compare Waretown's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waretown

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Waretown, New Jersey, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 226 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 918 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2962 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 472 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 107 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 821 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 3025 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 283 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 621 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 473 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
2004JeanneSep 2971 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
2004CharleyAug 1540 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
2001AllisonJun 1754 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1999FloydSep 168 miTropical storm (61 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1328 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1985GloriaSep 2723 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2443 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1036 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
1972AgnesJun 2246 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 1
1971DoriaAug 2816 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1138 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 1510 miTropical storm (61 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1237 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 308 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1172 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 1
1955DianeAug 1951 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2152 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1447 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 5
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 331 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1938Unnamed 1938 stormSep 2170 miCategory 3 (121 mph)Category 5
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 843 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1930 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 3014 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1721 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 466 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1908Unnamed 1908 stormMay 3070 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3063 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1511 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 1632 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1623 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1417 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2433 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1024 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormSep 3068 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2417 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2573 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 114 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 249 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1263 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormSep 1173 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1847 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 54 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2919 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2619 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 30overheadTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1929 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 353 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2810 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1770 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 1
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 2040 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm

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

By decade

  • 2020s8
  • 2010s2
  • 2000s1
  • 1990s2
  • 1980s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s1
  • 1960s2
  • 1950s3
Strongest tornadoes near Waretown, New Jersey
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jul 21, 1983F38 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jul 29, 2021EF23 mi4.2 mi0 / 8
Aug 20, 1999F216 mi0.4 mi0 / 1
Jun 29, 1982F27 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Aug 10, 2023EF121 mi0.31 mi0 / 0
Jul 29, 2021EF13 mi6.52 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF17 mi3.32 mi0 / 0
Sep 16, 2010EF123 mi2.23 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 2004F118 mi2.6 mi0 / 2
Jun 21, 1981F120 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Jul 24, 1974F12 mi1 mi0 / 0
Mar 10, 1964F125 mi59.1 mi0 / 5

The strongest 12 of 24, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Waretown

The Storm Prediction Center has 28 hail reports within 10 miles of Waretown since 1975, made on 17 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 6, 2002. The most recent report is from April 3, 2024. June has the most reports, 13.

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

Weather by month in Waretown

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Toms River, NJ, 11 miles north of Waretown at 10 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 22°F. December is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 52.0 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (26.3 of 52.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 60 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (26); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. That 52.0 inches is more than at 47 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (92%). Barnegat, 3 miles southwest, has its own station (Brant Beach-Beach Haven, NJ): 41.0 inches a year, 11.0 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Toms River, NJ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan42224.47
Feb45223.25
Mar51284.98
Apr62383.87
May71493.67
Jun80583.97
Jul86644.56
Aug84625.06
Sep77534.76
Oct67424.56
Nov56323.76
Dec47275.87
Year644152.079

Averages for 1991–2020 at Toms River, NJ (10 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.

New Jersey weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Waretown

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 112 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waretown: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 12 lightning strikes, 11 heavy rain events and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on June 3, 2020. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 37 have had fewer than Waretown.

  • July 8, 2014: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Waretown — 3 injured.

  • July 9, 2013: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Waretown — 1 injured.

  • June 22, 2012: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Waretown — $500,000 damage.

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 Waretown's ZIP code 08758 have filed 652 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $19.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Sandy in 2012: 438 claims (67% of all) and $18.4 million, then December Storm - Nor'easter in 1992 with 86 and The "Halloween" Storm in 1991 with 18. 88% 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, 338 have fewer than Waretown.

Flood insurance claims in Waretown by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Hurricane Sandy2012438$18.4 million
December Storm - Nor'easter199286$659,000
The "Halloween" Storm199118$60,000

Ocean County, which includes Waretown, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 hurricanes, 6 snowstorms, 4 fires, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ocean County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively High for hurricanes and inland flooding; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $203.7 million a year, the 6th highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $99.8 million (49%), 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 Waretown