Storms that touched Long Island
Atlantic storms follow a variety of tracks as they move toward land. Here is a sampling of storms that have visited Long Island, some with a direct hit and some with a glancing blow.
The deadliest of the storms, a Category 3 hurricane that would be known as the Long Island Express, came ashore on Sept. 21, 1938, and resulted in the deaths of dozens of people on the East End. You can read more about the description of that storm from survivors of the hurricane by clicking here.
| Storm | Month | Year | Highest category | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Henri | Month August | Year 2021 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Aug.22: The hurricane was anticipated to be the first of its kind to hit LI since Hurricane Gloria in 1985 but dropped to a tropical storm. Packing wind gust between high 30s to 40s mph with up to just over 4 inches in heavy downpour. |
| Storm Ida | Month September | Year 2021 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Sept. 1: Hurricane Ida caused a momentary tornado watch as up to 2 inches of rain per hour down poured with gusts of about 30 mph. The remnants of Hurricane Ida left more than 13,200 Long Islanders without power and the LIRR suspended service. |
| Storm Elsa | Month July | Year 2021 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description July 9: Tropical Storm Elsa caused flooding south of Montauk Highway in Lindenhurst, toppled trees, and left nearly 27,000 Long Islanders without power. |
| Storm Isaias | Month August | Year 2020 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Aug. 4: More than 25,000 Long Islanders were without power for more than a week after Tropical Storm Isaias’ gusts of up to 78 mph wreaked havoc on the Island. |
| Storm Fay | Month July | Year 2020 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description July 10: Downpours and 39 mph winds brought on by Tropical Storm Fay resulted in beach advisories on Long Island. |
| Storm Dorian | Month September | Year 2019 | Highest category Category 2 hurricane | Description Sept. 6: Hurricane Dorian brought up to an inch of rain and rough seas due to Long Island. A high-surf advisor and high-rip current warning was put in effect. |
| Storm Jose | Month September | Year 2017 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Sept. 19-20: The hurricane became a tropical storm, largely spared Long Island. Jones Beach State Park closed due to flooding, minor flooding in Lindenhurst, Bay Shore, Mastic Beach, Islip. Reported power outages. Dune erosion, dangerous riptides and surf. |
| Storm Arthur | Month July | Year 2014 | Highest category Category 2 hurricane | Description July 4: The hurricane tracked east of Long Island, no direct hit, but produced larger waves, higher surf, higher rip current activity, and downpours of rain throughout the day. |
| Storm Sandy | Month October | Year 2012 | Highest category SuperStorm | Description Oct. 29: Hurricane Sandy morphed into a superstorm with storm surges, high winds causing 13 LI deaths, 945,000 LIPA customers losing power including schools, refineries, waste treatment plants and electrical substations. 95,000 homes, businesses and government buildings were damaged. |
| Storm Irene | Month August | Year 2011 | Highest category Category 2 hurricane | Description Aug. 28: The hurricane dropped to tropical storm status as it hit Long Island, but still managed to cause serious flooding. About 523,000 customers were left without power. |
| Storm Hanna | Month September | Year 2008 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Sept. 7: Packing wind gusts up to 39 mph and downpours of up to 4 inches, Hanna was a tropical storm by the time it reached the island. |
| Storm Barry | Month June | Year 2007 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description June 3-4: The remnants of Tropical Storm Barry dumped about three inches of rain on the Island and runoff led to the temporary closing of a number of shell-fishing areas in Nassau and Suffolk. |
| Storm Charley | Month August | Year 2004 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Aug. 15: On Long Island, the remnants of Hurricane Charley left an average of 1 to 2 inches of rain, with winds up to 14 mph. Having lost some force after making landfall in North Carolina, it fell short of expectations, sparing Long Island. |
| Storm Allison | Month June | Year 2001 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description June 17: The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison brought 3 to 4 inches of rain over a period of 10 hours on Long Island on Father's Day. Allison came to life off Galveston, Texas, on June 5. |
| Storm Gordon | Month September | Year 2000 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Sept. 19: After crossing the southeastern United States and getting back out over the Atlantic, this diminished storm came ashore in Suffolk County. Heavy surf churned up by the remains of Hurricane Gordon made fishing an adventure. |
| Storm Floyd | Month September | Year 1999 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Sept. 16: A tropical storm by the time it crossed near the Queens-Nassau County border, Floyd left 149,000 customers without power. The storm packed heavy rains on its western half and winds on the eastern side -- the part that passed over Long Island. |
| Storm Bertha | Month July | Year 1996 | Highest category Category 3 hurricane | Description July 13: Most of Long Island saw between one and two inches of rain, causing some flooding. Bertha, down to a tropical storm by the time it arrived on Long Island, caused minimal beach erosion. |
| Storm Beryl | Month August | Year 1994 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Aug. 18: Down to a tropical depression by the time it passed north of the Island, Beryl hardly had an impact. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month December | Year 1992 | Highest category Nor'easter | Description Dec. 11-13, 1992: The two-day nor'easter brought record high tides and hurricane-force winds across the Island, that turned to an unpredictably heavy wet snowfall that compounded flooding problems and hindered clean-up efforts in the wake of record high tides. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month October | Year 1991 | Highest category Nor'easter | Description Oct. 30: Halloween nor'easter, 1991 brought the worst LI coastal flooding since 1960s. Tides up to 5 feet above normal. Cost: About $34M in damage on NY's coast. Damage: Wind and waves destroyed two dozen homes and ripped up four public highways on the South Shore. |
| Storm Bob | Month August | Year 1991 | Highest category Category 3 hurricane | Description Aug. 19: The center of Hurricane Bob passed to the east of Montauk as a Category 2. The storm caused $100 million in damage, going on to cause extensive problems in New England. |
| Storm Chris | Month August | Year 1988 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Aug. 29: Chris was a tropical depression when it passed north of the Island, knocking out power to 33,000 utility customers. |
| Storm Gloria | Month September | Year 1985 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Sept. 27, 1985: Hurricane Gloria, with wind gusts of up to 100 mph, caused up to $100 million in damage on Long Island. Federal and state relief funds later repaid $42 million. About 683,000 LILCO customers, more than two-thirds of the company's customers, lost power. |
| Storm Henri | Month September | Year 1985 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Sept 24: Henri nicked the East End but did not draw as much attention as Gloria would less than a week later. |
| Storm Belle | Month August | Year 1976 | Highest category Category 3 hurricane | Description Aug. 9-10: Hurricane Belle, a minimal hurricane, struck on a falling tide, causing relatively little flooding on Long Island. One man died when he was hit by a falling tree. |
| Storm Agnes | Month June | Year 1972 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Aug. 22: Downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached the Island, Agnes caused flooding elsewhere in New York. |
| Storm Doria | Month August | Year 1971 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Aug. 28: The storm tracked through New York City but still left 250,000 homes on Long Island without power. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month March | Year 1962 | Highest category Nor'easter | Description March 6-8: A storm strikes on Ash Wednesday and destroys 100 homes. |
| Storm Esther | Month September | Year 1961 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Sept. 21: The storm remained a Category 3 as it approached Montauk, but it looped around and dropped to a tropical depression. Damage at the time was estimated to be $3 million. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month September | Year 1961 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Sept. 15: This storm crossed over from New Jersey and made landfall again at Long Beach with winds of 35 mph. |
| Storm Donna | Month September | Year 1960 | Highest category Category 5 hurricane | Description Sept. 12: Hurricane Donna required evacuation of 4,000 to 5,000 people from the barrier beaches and of several hundred additional families from low-lying areas between Amityville and Babylon. The South Shore of Nassau and Suffolk sustained $1.9 million in damage. |
| Storm Diane | Month August | Year 1955 | Highest category Tropical storm | Description Aug. 19: Down to a tropical depression by the time it ran the length of the Island, Diane left hundreds without power. |
| Storm Edna | Month September | Year 1954 | Highest category Category 1 hurricane | Description Sept. 11-12: Strong winds across Long Island and New England left widespread power outages. Damage in the two areas totaled $42 million. |
| Storm Carol | Month August | Year 1954 | Highest category Category 2 hurricane | Description Aug. 31: Hurricane Carol, with winds up to 125 mph, produced 14-foot seas. About 275,000 Nassau-Suffolk homes lost LILCO service. Damage on Long Island totaled $3 million. President Dwight Eisenhower declared Suffolk County a disaster area. |
| Storm Able | Month September | Year 1952 | Highest category Category 2 hurricane | Description Sept. 1: The tropical storm faded to a tropical depression as it passed west of the Island. Nevertheless, 27,000 homes were left without power and winds reached 55 mph. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month November | Year 1950 | Highest category Nor'easter | Description Nov. 24-25: A Thanksgiving storm causes millions of dollars in damage with wind gusts of up to 93 mph. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month September | Year 1945 | Highest category Category 4 hurricane | Description Sept. 14: Still a Category 1 storm when it reached the Island, this hurricane left four dead and was compared in force to the 1938 storm. |
| Storm Unnamed | Month October | Year 1944 | Highest category Category 3 hurricane | Description Oct. 20: After peaking off Florida, this storm passed to the east of the Island with wind gusts of 35 to 50 mph. At that point it was -- extratropical -- a category below tropical depression. |
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