No active hurricanes threatening Providence right now

Could the next one hit soon? 123 hurricanes have impacted the Providence area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

123
Hurricanes affecting Providence area
2021
Most recent
140 kt
Strongest peak winds
6 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Providence's location at the head of Narragansett Bay concentrates storm surge and tidal flooding into the city and its low-lying waterfront neighborhoods, making surge and coastal inundation the dominant hurricane threats — Hurricane Henri (2021) and Ida-era coastal impacts underscore recent vulnerability.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Providence area — including East Providence, Rumford, Pawtucket, Cranston, North Providence, Central Falls, Johnston, Riverside. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Providence area?

Distribution of 123 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Providence, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
3 M
10 J
11 J
32 A
42 S
21 O
3 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Providence area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 12 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 24 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 93 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 161 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 173 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 100 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 193 mi
2017 NATE Cat 1 80 kt 167 mi
2017 JOSE Cat 4 135 kt 184 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 73 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 143 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 98 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 175 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 16 mi
2007 NOEL Cat 1 75 kt 174 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2007 that came within 200 miles of Providence. 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 Providence

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1872 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 6 mi Oct 27, 1872
1902 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 7 mi Jun 17, 1902
1888 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 10 mi Sep 12, 1888
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 12 mi Aug 24, 2021
1861 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 13 mi Nov 03, 1861
1908 UNNAMED Cat 1 65 kt 15 mi May 31, 1908
1851 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 16 mi Oct 19, 1851
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 16 mi Sep 07, 2008
1888 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 21 mi Aug 22, 1888
1915 UNNAMED Cat 1 65 kt 23 mi Aug 05, 1915
Showing the 10 closest of 123 total storms within 150 mi of Providence since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Providence

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (Providence 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 Providence

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Providence (41.8255°N, 71.4114°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Providence — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.