Maine Hurricane Season

Q: When is hurricane season in Maine?

The National Hurricane Center's dates apply to the whole Atlantic basin, Maine included: "The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30." NHC also states: "The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October." For Maine specifically, the strike record peaks in September, with 1 of the 2 recorded strikes.

Q: How often does Maine get hit by hurricanes?

NOAA's landfall list records 2 hurricane strikes on Maine between 1851 and 2025, which averages out to about one every 88 years. Treat that as an average and not a schedule: strikes cluster, decades can pass quietly, and NOAA itself cautions that the earliest decades of the record are incomplete in places. 0 of those strikes were major (Category 3 or higher) in Maine.

Q: What was the strongest hurricane to hit Maine?

By NOAA's own per-state attribution, the strongest in the record: Saxby's Gale in 1869 (Category 2 in Maine, 965 mb at landfall); Gloria in 1985 (Category 1 in Maine, 942 mb at landfall). The full table on this page lists every entry with NOAA's category, central pressure, and maximum winds.

Q: When was the last hurricane to hit Maine?

The most recent hurricane strike in NOAA's list for Maine is Gloria in 1985 (Category 1 in this state). The list runs through the 2025 season; anything newer than that, and anything currently active, belongs to the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov.

Q: Has a hurricane ever hit Maine in November?

Not in NOAA's landfall list for Maine. November strikes on the US are rare everywhere: the record's November entries are concentrated in Florida and the Carolinas. The season officially runs through November 30 all the same.

Q: Is a hurricane coming to Maine right now?

The panel near the top of this page republishes the latest NHC public advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. The National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov publishes every active storm, forecast, watch and warning, and your state and local emergency management agencies issue evacuation decisions. During any active storm, those are the sources to act on.

Season dates, the months storms have actually arrived, and every strike NOAA has recorded, from the agency record.

Hurricane season is open right now: it runs June 1 to November 30. For anything live, use the National Hurricane Center, not this page.

Season

Jun 1 to Nov 30

NOAA recorded strikes

Peak month here

September

Is there a storm near Maine right now? Go to the National Hurricane Center.

The panel just below republishes the National Hurricane Center’s own latest advisories and outlook, verbatim and timestamped. Tracks, cones and forecasts are the National Hurricane Center’s. If a storm is active or approaching, NHC is the source of official forecasts and warnings, and your emergency management agency is the source of evacuation and shelter decisions.

National Hurricane Center for current storms, forecasts, watches, and warnings
Your state emergency management agency for evacuation orders and shelter information
Ready.gov hurricane preparedness for how to prepare, in FEMA’s own words

“It only takes one hurricane (or tropical storm) to cause a disaster.” NOAA Climate Prediction Center

What NHC is saying right now

Republished verbatim from the National Hurricane Center via the National Weather Service API, with NHC’s own issuance times. For anything that matters, read it at nhc.noaa.gov where it is always current.

Loading the latest NHC products…

Maine hurricane season at a glance

Climatology and history, never a forecast

Today

The bar marks mid August to mid October. NHC: "The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October." The season itself runs June 1 to November 30.

hurricane strikes in NOAA's list

1851 to 2025

None

major (Cat 3+) strikes

as attributed by NOAA AOML

September

busiest month here

1 of 2 in the record

~88 yrs

average gap between events

an average, not a schedule

Maine is the end of the line for Atlantic hurricanes: the Gulf of Maine's cold water strips storms of their strength, and most arrivals here are classified extratropical before they cross the coast. NOAA's list records two hurricane strikes in 175 years.

The dates

When is hurricane season in Maine?

The season dates are set by NOAA, they are the same for the whole Atlantic basin, and they are worth quoting rather than paraphrasing:

“The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30.”National Hurricane Center, source

“The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October.”National Hurricane Center, source

Those are basin-wide dates. What they mean for Maine specifically is in the month histogram below: the calendar of storms that have actually arrived here, which is narrower than the season and different for every state.

The season dates are also not walls. NHC is explicit that storms sometimes form outside the official window; the off season page counts exactly how often. See the December to May record.

NOAA’s outlook for the 2026 season

NOAA Climate Prediction Center, issued 6 August 2026. Snapshot taken 2026-08-27; always current at the source.

“NOAA's updated outlook for the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season indicates that a below-normal season is the most likely outcome, with low chances for a near-normal season, and a very small chance that the season would be above-normal.”

7 to 13 named storms
2 to 6 hurricanes
0 to 2 major hurricanes

“NOAA does not make seasonal hurricane landfall predictions. Hurricane landfalls are largely determined by the weather patterns in place as the hurricane approaches, and those patterns are usually only predictable when the storm is within several days of making landfall.” NOAA Climate Prediction Center

Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo, a large hurricane with a well defined eye, approaching the southeastern United States coast — Hurricane Hugo from NOAA's polar orbiting satellite on September 21, 1989, approaching its South Carolina landfall. September is the peak of the season basin-wide, and September leads the strike record in Maine. “Hugo 1989-09-21 1844Z” — NOAA Satellite and Information Service — Public domain

The calendar

Which months hurricanes actually hit in Maine

This histogram counts the hurricane strikes NOAA's landfall list attributes to Maine, by month, across the whole 1851 to 2025 record. It is a record of what happened, not a forecast of any year.

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Hurricane strikes on Maine by month, 1851 to 2025, as attributed by NOAA AOML's continental US hurricane landfall list.

September accounts for 1 of the 2 events in the record here. A month with zero strikes is not a month with zero risk: the basin-wide season runs June through November everywhere, and the routing block at the top of this page applies in all of them.

Satellite image of Hurricane Nicole, a broad late season hurricane over the western Atlantic, approaching the Florida east coast at night — Hurricane Nicole from NOAA’s VIIRS satellite on November 10, 2022, two days before the end of climatology charts would suggest the Atlantic quiets down. November strikes are rare and real: the month pages count every one. “Hurricane Nicole at 0657 UTC November 10, 2022” — NOAA-20 VIIRS via CIMSS — Public domain

The record

Every hurricane strike NOAA has recorded on Maine

Reproduced from NOAA AOML’s continental US hurricane landfall list, with NOAA’s own per-state category attribution. “Category in Maine” is the Saffir-Simpson category NOAA assigns for this state specifically, which is often lower than the storm’s landfall category elsewhere.

Year	Month	Name	Category in Maine	Highest US category	Pressure	Max wind
1985	Sep	Gloria	Category 1	Cat 3	942 mb	90 kt
1869	Oct	Saxby's Gale &	Category 2	Cat 2	965 mb	90 kt

& center made landfall but the strongest winds likely stayed offshore. Flags and wording are NOAA AOML’s own. “(inland)” marks AOML’s I-prefix entries: hurricane conditions reaching a state whose coast the center did not strike.

How complete is this record?

“Because of the sparseness of towns and cities before 1900 in some coastal locations along the United States, the above list is not complete for all states. Before the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts became settled, hurricanes may have been underestimated in their intensity or missed completely for small-sized systems (i.e., 2004's Hurricane Charley).”NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division, source

A wave from the 1938 New England hurricane storm surge exploding against a seawall, towering over the street beside it — Storm surge from the September 1938 hurricane striking a New England seawall, from the NOAA National Weather Service historic collection. New England's strike list is short, and this is what its entries look like when they arrive. “1938 Hurricane Storm Surge” — NOAA / NWS Historic Collection — Public domain

Reading the table

What the categories mean, and how they land in Maine

NHC’s definitions, in its own words: a tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph, a hurricane 74 mph or higher, and a major hurricane 111 mph or higher, corresponding to Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Category measures wind only: water, historically the deadlier hazard, is not in the number, which is one more reason a history page must never stand in for the National Hurricane Center during a real storm.

Cat 1

Cat 2

Cat 3

Cat 4

Cat 5

Hurricane strikes on Maine by NOAA-attributed category in this state, 1851 to 2025.

The eye of Hurricane Katrina photographed from a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft, a towering circular wall of cloud around clear air — The eye of Hurricane Katrina from a NOAA WP-3D hurricane hunter aircraft, August 28, 2005. NOAA aircraft fly into every major storm; the best-track data behind this page is partly theirs. “Hurricane Katrina Eye viewed from Hurricane Hunter” — NOAA — Public domain

Common questions

Maine hurricane season FAQ

When is hurricane season in Maine?

How often does Maine get hit by hurricanes?

What was the strongest hurricane to hit Maine?

When was the last hurricane to hit Maine?

Has a hurricane ever hit Maine in November?

Is a hurricane coming to Maine right now?

What do hurricane categories actually measure?

Wind, and only wind. NHC defines a hurricane as a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher, and a major hurricane as 111 mph or higher (Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale). Storm surge and rainfall flooding are not part of the category, which is one reason the category of an approaching storm never tells the whole story and official guidance does.

Keep planning

More for the Maine coast

Maine beach conditionsLive rip current and surf risk from the National Weather Service, reproduced as issued.Maine mosquito forecastThe weeks after a tropical system are peak mosquito weeks. Timing and risk by state.Hurricane season nationwideSeason dates, the September 10 peak, and strike history for every coastal state.

Hurricane season by state

Hurricane season by month

Strike counts and categories are reproduced from NOAA AOML’s continental US hurricane landfall list (Revised in March 2026 to add in the 2025 season) and NOAA HURDAT2. Season dates and peak are NHC’s, quoted. These are historical records and season climatology. For a live forecast or watch: nhc.noaa.gov.
Hero image: “Katrina 2005-08-28 2245Z” — U.S. Navy / Naval Research Laboratory — Public domain