List of hurricanes in Canada

The list of hurricanes in Canada refers to any tropical cyclone originating in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean affecting the country of Canada.

Overview Atlantic Canada has been hit with many storms, with the ones that do hit usually being weak storms, due to the generally cool waters offshore. Some hurricanes can strike the area full force as the warm Gulf Stream extends fairly close to Atlantic Canada. Due to the cool waters for a great distance from the Pacific coast of Canada, there has never been a storm of any intensity to affect the Pacific coast. On occasions, tropical systems can transition into or be absorbed by non-tropical systems that strongly affect Western Canada, most notably by the remnants of Typhoon Freda that were absorbed by the Columbus Day Storm of 1962.

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) states Hurricane Ella of 1978 is the strongest tropical cyclone in Canadian waters, passing approximately south of Halifax, Nova Scotia as a Category 4 hurricane. Ella did not make landfall. The strongest hurricane to make landfall in Canada was Hurricane Ginny of 1963, which had winds of and a minimum pressure of , making it a Category 2 hurricane at the time of its landfall near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Sometimes, a hurricane will make landfall in the United States and continue northward to dissipate over (or partially over) Canada. Only a handful of storms that have taken this path have been devastating in Canada. Two examples of this happening include the 1900 Galveston hurricane and Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Hurricanes that entered Canada from the U.S. after landfall are omitted from the lists, with being devastating, or notable cyclones. Many extratropical remnants of tropical cyclones have entered Canada. They are not included in the list unless they were particularly notable. This article also includes hurricanes that affected Newfoundland prior to its entry into Canada in 1949, and hurricanes that affected any Canadian provinces before confederation in 1867.

List of tropical cyclones

Pre-1900 Many tropical storms and hurricanes struck present-day Canada during this time. The most damaging one struck Newfoundland in September 1775, killing thousands. To shorten this particular list, insignificant tropical storms and depressions are omitted. September 9, 1775: The 1775 Newfoundland hurricane killed over 4,000 in Newfoundland. Not only is it the earliest recorded Canadian hurricane, it is also by far the deadliest. October 10–11, 1804: The 1804 New England hurricane unusually blanketed parts of Canada with snow after striking New England. August 23, 1863: A Category 1 hurricane hit Nova Scotia just before losing tropical characteristics. September 23–24, 1866: A hurricane hit Newfoundland after weakening from a Category 2 hurricane. October 5, 1869: The 1869 Saxby Gale struck Canada's Bay of Fundy region damaging parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, killing 37 people offshore. October 13, 1871: A hurricane hit Nova Scotia. August 26, 1873: The Nova Scotia Hurricane of 1873 drifted south of Nova Scotia as a Category 3 hurricane. It weakened to a Category 1 before slowly making landfall in Newfoundland. It was a devastating hurricane that killed over 600. Damage in Nova Scotia was severe. It destroyed over 1,200 boats and over 900 homes and businesses. This is one of Nova Scotia's worst cyclones. October 1882: Remnants of a hurricane hit Labrador, resulting in 140 deaths. August 26, 1883: A Category 1 hurricane passed offshore Newfoundland, resulting in 80 deaths. August 23, 1886: A major hurricane weakened to a Category 1 hurricane before crossing Newfoundland as a hurricane. September 8, 1891: A hurricane struck both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as a Category 1 hurricane. August 18, 1893: A hurricane struck Newfoundland with winds.

1900–1949 September 12–14, 1900: After leaving behind a trail of devastation in the United States, the 1900 Galveston hurricane affected six Canadian provinces as a powerful extratropical cyclone, killing 52–232 people, mainly due to shipwrecks. August 8, 1926: The 1926 Nova Scotia hurricane made landfall in Nova Scotia as an extratropical storm, killing 55–58 people. August 24, 1927: The 1927 Nova Scotia hurricane made landfall in Nova Scotia as a Category 2 hurricane with winds, causing immense damage, reaching $1.6 million (1927 USD), and killed 172–193 people. August 26, 1935: A Category 1 hurricane struck Newfoundland as an extratropical storm, resulting in major damage and at least 50 offshore deaths. September 26, 1937: The extratropical remnant of a hurricane caused damage in Nova Scotia. The storm was moving swiftly, so most of the damage was strictly wind related. September 21, 1938: The 1938 New England hurricane tracked into Canada, bringing strong winds to eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. Damage was primarily limited to trees and power lines; structural damage was minimal. This storm, along with Hurricane Hazel in 1954, was one of the few hurricanes to cause hurricane-force winds in Canada's interior. October 18, 1939: A Category 2 hurricane became extratropical before striking the island as a Category 1 hurricane. No one died, but considerable damage was done to trees, boats, and buildings. September 17, 1940: The 1940 Nova Scotia hurricane struck Nova Scotia as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening.

1950–1999 August 21, 1950: Hurricane Able struck Nova Scotia as a strong tropical storm, causing only minor damage. October 5, 1950: Hurricane George passed a few miles south as a tropical/extratropical storm. February 5, 1952: The 1952 Groundhog Day tropical storm, affected New Brunswick before dissipating. September 7, 1953: Hurricane Carol struck the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border. It caused about $1 million in damage, mainly to boats and fish craft. October 16, 1954: Hurricane Hazel moved into Ontario as a powerful extratropical storm (still of hurricane intensity) after having struck the Carolinas. Flash flooding from Hazel in Canada destroyed twenty bridges, killed 81 people, and left over 2,000 families homeless. In all, Hazel killed nearly 100 people and caused almost $630 million (2005 CAD) in damages (on top of over 500 other deaths and billions in damage in the US and Caribbean). No other recent natural disaster on Canadian soil has been so deadly. Floods killed 35 people on a single street in Toronto. August 23, 1955: Hurricane Connie – When Connie entered Ontario as a tropical storm, it continued to produce winds of up to , and the storm dropped of rainfall near the Great Lakes. In Burlington, 27 boats were destroyed, and one person drowned in Lake Erie after his boat sank. Two other people drowned in the province. Connie destroyed six houses and damaged several others due to high waves. September 29, 1958: Hurricane Helene became extratropical before striking Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as a Category 1 hurricane. Although not very damaging in Canada, Helene did destroy a wharf carrying many lobster traps out to sea. June 19, 1959: The 1959 Escuminac Hurricane was a devastating extratropical storm that hit Nova Scotia at hurricane strength. Killing 35 people, the storm was so devastating that a monument was erected on Escuminac Harbour in memory of those lost. July 12, 1959: Tropical Storm Cindy struck north of Nova Scotia as an extratropical cyclone. October 10, 1961: After reaching Category 4 intensity near Bermuda, Hurricane Frances became extratropical as it approached the Gulf of Maine. The remnants then curved east-northeastward and struck Nova Scotia, before dissipating early on October 10. October 8, 1962: Hurricane Daisy struck Nova Scotia as a Category 1-equivelant extratropical cyclone, near the same area as Frances a year earlier, which also struck the area while extratropical. October 12, 1962: Typhoon Freda struck British Columbia as a very powerful extratropical cyclone with pressure equivalent to a major hurricane. October 29, 1963: Hurricane Ginny struck Nova Scotia as a strong Category 2 hurricane, the strongest to ever make landfall in Canada. Ginny was unusual in the fact that the hurricane produced snow. October 24, 1964: Hurricane Gladys dissipated near the coast of Newfoundland just after making landfall. August 16, 1971: Hurricane Beth struck Nova Scotia as a minimal hurricane, bringing over of rainfall. July 7, 1973: Hurricane Alice side-swiped the entire western coast of Newfoundland as a tropical storm before dissipating over Newfoundland. July 28, 1975: Hurricane Blanche struck Nova Scotia as a tropical storm, dropping over of rainfall. October 25, 1979: A subtropical storm struck Newfoundland as a subtropical storm after losing hurricane strength. August 7–8, 1988: Tropical Storm Alberto, the furthest north forming tropical storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, struck the Canadian Maritimes and became extratropical over Newfoundland. Alberto was the first storm with a masculine name to directly strike Canada. August 8, 1989: Hurricane Dean passed over Newfoundland before losing tropical characteristics. August 2, 1990: Hurricane Bertha's extratropical remnants damaged crops and a suspension bridge in Prince Edward Island. November 2, 1991: The 1991 unnamed hurricane, although staying mostly out to sea, made landfall in Nova Scotia as a tropical storm. The storm was not very damaging in Canada, but caused horrendous damage elsewhere. July 9, 1995: Tropical Storm Barry hit Nova Scotia while tropical with no known damage. September 11, 1995: Hurricane Luis, after raging through the Leeward Islands, turned towards Newfoundland on September 8. The CHC issued bulletins on the powerful hurricane as it neared the province. Luis struck a sparsely populated area in eastern Newfoundland on September 11, dropping of rain in the Avalon Peninsula without causing much damage. One was reported killed in Canada from Luis.CHC report on Luis July 14, 1996: Hurricane Bertha struck Newfoundland before dissipating, but passed from Maine to New Brunswick earlier in its life, dropping over of rain in New Brunswick.CHC report on Bertha September 13–15, 1996: An unusual storm over the Great Lakes, which may have briefly been a tropical or subtropical cyclone, dropped over of rain over parts of Ontario. September 15, 1996: Hurricane Hortense, the first hurricane to directly strike Nova Scotia while at hurricane strength since Blanche in 1975, struck the Nova Scotian coast as a Category 1 hurricane. $3 million were inflicted to Nova Scotia by Hortense after strong winds, heavy rain, and power outages.CHC report on Hortense September 18, 1999: Hurricane Floyd struck the Canadian Maritimes after losing tropical characteristics. Despite high interest in Floyd by the CHC, little damage was inflicted in Canada. Floyd did, however, bring winds of and high seas.

2000–present October 20, 2000: Hurricane Michael struck Harbour Breton as a Category 1 hurricane. A peak gust was recorded of nearly , as well as a peak wave height of over that was recorded off the coast by Buoy 44193. Overall damage by Michael was light. October 15, 2001: Hurricane Karen brought beneficial rain after striking Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Winds there only gusted to about , and little damage was reported.CHC report on Karen September 12, 2002: Hurricane Gustav struck Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, both as a Category 1 hurricane. Gustav brought hurricane-force winds to Nova Scotia and dropped at least of rain across all Nova Scotian sites. The highest rainfall amount was in Ashdale.