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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wildwood, 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

65 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Wildwood, New Jersey since 1851, 14 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ida in 2021. Since 1950, 15 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
14

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
51

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
15

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
0

no recorded deaths

What the records show for Wildwood

The strongest storm to pass near Wildwood was an unnamed storm in 1944, a Category 2 hurricane with 108 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1903, whose centre came within 7 miles. The record near Wildwood begins with an unnamed storm in 1856; the most recent system was Ida in 2021, a tropical storm 67 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 7 systems. Of the 65 systems, 14 have come since 2000. Wildwood is tied for the most hurricanes within 75 miles among the 455 New Jersey cities on this site. The highest rating among the 15 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 27, 1971, came within 4 miles. Of the 15, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. August has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on July 9, 2021. Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 99% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wildwood. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 12 times since 1977, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 455 New Jersey cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wildwood.

Compare Wildwood's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wildwood

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Wildwood, New Jersey, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2021IdaSep 267 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
2021ElsaJul 93 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
2020ZetaOct 2920 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 3
2020IsaiasAug 464 miTropical storm (66 mph)Category 1
2020FayJul 1023 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
2013AndreaJun 811 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2012SandyOct 2933 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
2011IreneAug 2812 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
2008HannaSep 629 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2007BarryJun 474 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
2005Twenty-TwoOct 1461 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2004JeanneSep 2914 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
2004GastonAug 3151 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2004CharleyAug 1533 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 4
1999FloydSep 1610 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1996BerthaJul 1331 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 3
1992DanielleSep 2649 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1986CharleyAug 1867 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1985GloriaSep 2732 miCategory 2 (96 mph)Category 4
1985HenriSep 2455 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1976BelleAug 1056 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 3
1971DoriaAug 2810 miTropical storm (68 mph)Tropical storm
1968Unnamed 1968 stormSep 1159 miTropical storm (51 mph)Tropical storm
1961Unnamed 1961 stormSep 156 miTropical storm (59 mph)Tropical storm
1960DonnaSep 1246 miCategory 2 (98 mph)Category 4
1960BrendaJul 3011 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
1959CindyJul 1156 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1953BarbaraAug 1474 miCategory 1 (90 mph)Category 1
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 2130 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 4
1944Unnamed 1944 stormSep 1456 miCategory 2 (108 mph)Category 5
1944Unnamed 1944 stormAug 35 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1936Unnamed 1936 stormSep 1973 miCategory 1 (92 mph)Category 3
1934Unnamed 1934 stormSep 859 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 2
1934Unnamed 1934 stormJun 1964 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 1238 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 2
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 306 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 1713 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 3056 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1904Unnamed 1904 stormSep 1512 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 1
1903Unnamed 1903 stormSep 167 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormOct 1243 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1614 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1900Unnamed 1900 stormOct 1434 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2450 miTropical storm (67 mph)Tropical storm
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 1024 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormSep 3064 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 3
1893Unnamed 1893 stormOct 2371 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1893Unnamed 1893 stormAug 2449 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 3
1889Unnamed 1889 stormSep 2554 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1273 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 1119 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 260 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 2
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 231 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1882Unnamed 1882 stormSep 1233 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 3
1881Unnamed 1881 stormSep 1057 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormAug 1842 miCategory 2 (97 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 417 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 3
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2926 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2627 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1866Unnamed 1866 stormOct 3026 miTropical storm (67 mph)Tropical storm
1863Unnamed 1863 stormSep 1924 miTropical storm (55 mph)Tropical storm
1861Unnamed 1861 stormNov 258 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1861Unnamed 1861 stormSep 2813 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1859Unnamed 1859 stormSep 1738 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 1
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 2022 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 Wildwood: 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 Wildwood

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s2
  • 2000s1
  • 1990s2
  • 1980s3
  • 1970s4
  • 1950s1
Strongest tornadoes near Wildwood, New Jersey
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Aug 27, 1971F24 mi28.7 mi0 / 0
May 6, 1956F218 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Jul 9, 2021EF117 mi0.94 mi0 / 0
Aug 4, 2020EF118 mi4.24 mi0 / 0
Apr 15, 2019EF123 mi6.2 mi0 / 0
Aug 27, 2011EF124 mi0.7 mi0 / 0
Jul 16, 1995F15 mi0.2 mi0 / 0
Sep 6, 1979F111 mi0.1 mi0 / 1
Jul 3, 2003F010 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Aug 13, 1998F024 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
May 27, 1989F021 mi0.1 mi0 / 0
Sep 23, 1986F016 mi1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 15, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Wildwood

The Storm Prediction Center has 12 hail reports within 10 miles of Wildwood since 1977, made on 10 separate days. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 16, 2025. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 5.

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

Weather by month in Wildwood

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cape May 2 NW, NJ, 7 miles west of Wildwood at 20 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 68°F; January is the coolest, at 43°F and 29°F. October is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 43.9 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 (22.7 of 43.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 65 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (27); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 72 nights a year. Snowfall averages 14.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 43.9 inches is more than at 6 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (12%). Sea Isle City, 13 miles northeast, has its own station (Estell Manor, NJ): 50.4 inches a year, 6.5 more than here, and a July average high of 87°F against 86°F.

Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Cape May, NJ, 8 miles west, averaged 75°F in August and 40°F in January over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F. Sea level at the Cape May tide gauge, 8 miles from Wildwood, has risen 2.01 ± 0.09 inches per decade from 1965 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 20.1 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 120 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Cape May 2 NW, NJ
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow inWater °F
Jan43293.264.540
Feb45293.065.740
Mar52354.172.547
Apr62443.370.153
May71543.670.060
Jun80633.560.069
Jul86683.960.073
Aug84674.050.075
Sep79623.860.074
Oct68514.260.066
Nov57413.360.054
Dec48334.072.044
Year654843.97614.858

Averages for 1991–2020 at Cape May 2 NW, NJ (20 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Cape May, NJ, 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 Wildwood

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wildwood: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 36 heavy rain events, 14 floods, 11 flash floods and 9 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $195,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 21, 2016. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 11. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 22 have had fewer than Wildwood.

  • August 1, 2012: lightning strike in Wildwood — 4 injured.

    NWS: “A family of 4 people suffered minor injuries from a lightning strike on the beach in Wildwood off of East Cedar Avenue. They were under a beach umbrella when lightning struck nearby and traveled up the umbrella.”

  • July 27, 2008: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Wildwood — 2 injured.

  • July 21, 2015: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Wildwood — 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 Wildwood's ZIP code 08260 have filed 8,825 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $102.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1992: 3,385 claims (38% of all) and $24.3 million, then Hurricane Sandy in 2012 with 1,568 and December Storm - Nor'easter in 1992 with 632. 81% 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, 392 have fewer than Wildwood.

Flood insurance claims in Wildwood by named event
EventClaimsPaid
Flooding19923,385$24.3 million
Hurricane Sandy20121,568$40.0 million
December Storm - Nor'easter1992632$5.7 million
Winter Storm Jonas2016625$10.4 million
Hurricane Gloria1985502$3.2 million
The "Halloween" Storm1991292$2.7 million

Cape May County, which includes Wildwood, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 hurricanes, 6 snowstorms, 5 severe storms, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Remnants of Hurricane Ida, on September 5, 2021. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cape May County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $99.7 million a year, the 15th highest of 21 New Jersey counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $38.9 million (39%), 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).

Wildwood in the notable storm records: Hurricane Sandy (2012)

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Wildwood