No active hurricanes threatening Ponce right now

Could the next one hit soon? 144 hurricanes have impacted the Ponce area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

144
Hurricanes affecting Ponce area
2024
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
8 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Ponce’s low-lying southern coastal position and proximity to deep Caribbean waters make storm surge and destructive winds the primary threats — Hurricane Fiona's 2022 passage caused severe coastal flooding and wind damage that underscored the city's vulnerability.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Ponce area — including Mercedita, Coto Laurel, Villalba, Santa Isabel, Guayanilla, Jayuya, Coamo, Adjuntas. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Ponce area?

Distribution of 144 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Ponce, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
1 M
J
10 J
51 A
58 S
18 O
4 N
2 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Ponce area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2025 ERIN Cat 5 140 kt 166 mi
2024 ERNESTO Cat 2 85 kt 78 mi
2022 FIONA Cat 4 120 kt 26 mi
2022 EARL Cat 2 95 kt 172 mi
2022 NICOLE Cat 1 65 kt 179 mi
2021 GRACE Cat 3 105 kt 71 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 182 mi
2020 LAURA Cat 4 130 kt 50 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 100 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 100 mi
2018 BERYL Cat 1 70 kt 72 mi
2018 ISAAC Cat 1 65 kt 196 mi
2017 MARIA Cat 5 150 kt 28 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 86 mi
2014 BERTHA Cat 1 70 kt 68 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2007 that came within 200 miles of Ponce. Includes storms whose center stayed offshore or hit nearby cities — wind, surge, and rainfall impacts extend far beyond the storm's path.

All-time closest approaches to Ponce

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1878 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 8 mi Nov 29, 1878
1916 UNNAMED Cat 2 95 kt 14 mi Aug 22, 1916
1979 FREDERIC Cat 4 115 kt 16 mi Sep 04, 1979
1867 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 20 mi Oct 30, 1867
1996 HORTENSE Cat 4 120 kt 21 mi Sep 10, 1996
1896 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 22 mi Sep 01, 1896
1998 GEORGES Cat 4 135 kt 22 mi Sep 22, 1998
1899 UNNAMED Cat 4 130 kt 25 mi Aug 08, 1899
2004 JEANNE Cat 3 105 kt 26 mi Sep 15, 2004
2022 FIONA Cat 4 120 kt 26 mi Sep 18, 2022
Showing the 10 closest of 144 total storms within 150 mi of Ponce since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Ponce

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (Ponce County and surrounding areas).
  2. Set up alerts ahead of time. During an active storm, watches and warnings change every six hours. Email or text alerts from TropicalInfo give you the official NHC update the moment it's posted, with a plain-language summary.
  3. Prep your supplies before the storm is named. Stores empty out within hours of a watch. The 72-hour rule: water, food, batteries, fuel, medications, important documents. Our alerts can notify you of a storm long before it makes the news — giving you more time to get what you need before the panic-buying starts.
  4. Follow the cone, not the line. The forecast track is a best estimate — the cone shows where the center is likely to go. Impacts extend hundreds of miles from the center.

Set up free location-based alerts for Ponce

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Ponce (18.0156°N, 66.5800°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Ponce — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.