A New England hurricane is a tropical cyclone originating in the Atlantic Ocean that affects the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, or Maine in the United States. Due to geography and climatology, the vast majority of tropical cyclone strikes to the New England region occur in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and eastern Massachusetts. Since record keeping began for Atlantic tropical cyclones in 1851, there have been approximately 30 tropical cyclones to directly strike New England. Due to the location of New England, most tropical cyclones that threaten the region tend to recurve out to sea, mainly due to upper-level steering patterns, such as the jet stream. Tropical cyclones also tend to weaken upon approach due to the cooler waters above 40 latitude (near southeastern Massachusetts). Thus, tropical cyclone formation near New England and over the Gulf of Maine is very unfavorable. However, tropical cyclones moving up the East Coast can rapidly approach the Connecticut and Rhode Island coast before the encounter the cooler waters off southeast Massachusetts, and strike far southern New England as a category 3 hurricane. Both Connecticut and Rhode Island have been struck several times by a major hurricane since 1850. Most commonly, New England will see the remnants or weakening stage of most tropical cyclones that make landfall either along the United States east coast or Gulf coast. This can sometimes lead to excessive rainfall, and in some cases destructive flooding. Hurricane Diane in 1955 produced over 19 inches of rain in Massachusetts and contributed to the 1955 Connecticut floods, one of the worst flooding events in Connecticut's history. More recently, in 2011, a weakening Hurricane Irene produced historic flooding in Vermont, causing over $175 million in damage. The return period for hurricane and major landfalls along the coast of New England is highest in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and declines rapidly north toward Maine. Generally, the return period for hurricane force winds is 12-16 years along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island (which is for example higher than the coast of Georgia much farther south), to more than 50 years along the Maine coast. Due to the fact that sea surface temperatures from eastern Massachusetts northward are generally too cool to support a major tropical cyclone, the region very rarely sees a major hurricane landfall (Category 3 or higher). Since 1851, only 3 major hurricanes have ever made landfall on the New England coastline, and all of these were in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The return period for storms of such strength along the southern New England coastline is considered to be 50-70 years, and upwards of 300 years in coastal Maine. As of 2022, the most recent major hurricane to make landfall in the region was Hurricane Carol in 1954. On September 21, 1938, a Category 3 hurricane made landfall over New Haven, Connecticut with sustained winds of 115 mph (gusts of 150 mph) and a pressure of 941 millibars. Many coastal towns and cities on the Connecticut and Rhode Island coast suffered extreme damage. The coastal community of Napatree Point, Rhode Island was hit with a 20 - foot storm surge and the day after the cyclone was totally gone (34 killed). The cyclone produced very high wind gusts inland at higher elevations, delivering a 186 mph wind gust to the Blue Hill Observatory in Massachusetts, a 163 mph gust atop Mount Washington. A storm surge of 10-18 feet from Long Island Sound to Narragansett Bay, it is often considered to be the most intense hurricane to ever strike New England in modern times. One estimate from Rhode Island stated the water level "reflects a storm occurring roughly once every 400 years. A study of sand deposits also gives more evidence that this was the strongest hurricane to hit Rhode Island in over 300 years, since 1635."

List of New England Tropical Cyclones

Pre–17th century

Multiple intense hurricanes (Category 3+) are noted to have possibly struck New England in pre-Columbian times: between 1100 and 1150, 1300–1400 (1295–1407), and 1400–1450 (1404–1446), respectively.

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Landfalls

A landfall in New England occurs only if the center of the storm comes ashore in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut as they all share a coastline. Tropical cyclones that made landfall outside of New England, but subsequently passed through the region, are excluded from this category. For example, the 1893 New York hurricane, Tropical Storm Doria of 1971, and Hurricane Irene of 2011 all made landfall in New York City, but failed to cross Long Island Sound and enter Connecticut along its coastline. In addition, other systems such as the 1876 San Felipe hurricane, 1888 Louisiana hurricane, 1893 Sea Islands hurricane, and Hurricane Able of 1952 all passed through New York, to the north of New York City, before entering New England. A landfall is also distinct from a direct hit, in which the eyewall, or core of the highest winds, comes onshore, without the center of the storm moving ashore. New England hurricanes have made landfall on many occasions. Normally, due to cold SSTs and high wind shear, hurricanes do not last long, so the ones that do make landfall are normally weak, with major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) being rare. The following tables are a list of all tropical cyclones that have made landfall in New England since records began in 1851:

19th century

The 19th century saw a few notable storms. In 1869 an intense Category 3 hurricane struck Southeastern New England. Other hurricanes that made landfall include the Equinoctial Storm, Expedition hurricane, and the Saxby Gale. Since hurricanes were not named and fewer records were kept at the time, the information on some of the storms remains incomplete.

20th century

The 20th century saw eight hurricanes making landfall in New England; out of these the more notable include the 1938 New England hurricane (also called the Long Island Express), which made landfall as a major hurricane; Hurricane Carol did the same sixteen years later. The last hurricane to make landfall in New England was Hurricane Bob in 1991 as a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph.

21st century

So far in the 21st century, five tropical cyclones have made landfall in New England: Tropical Storm Hermine in 2004, which made landfall in southeastern Massachusetts; Tropical Storm Beryl in 2006, which made landfall in Nantucket; Tropical Storm Hanna in 2008, which made landfall in Connecticut; and Tropical Storms Elsa and Henri in 2021, which both made landfall in Rhode Island.

Deadliest storms

Some tropical cyclones that have impacted New England have resulted in fatalities in the region. The most notorious and deadly of these storms is the 1938 New England hurricane which killed between 682 and 800 people. This list includes all tropical cyclones that have resulted in at least 10 deaths in New England. Some storms may be excluded or their death toll may be inaccurate due to a lack of available data at the time.