No active hurricanes threatening Beaufort right now

Could the next one hit soon? 239 hurricanes have impacted the Beaufort area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

239
Hurricanes affecting Beaufort area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
3 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Beaufort's low-lying coastal and estuarine setting makes storm surge the primary hazard, with recent major surge and wind impacts from powerful nearby storms like Hurricane Ian (2022) underscoring its vulnerability.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Beaufort area — including Ladys Island, Port Royal, Seabrook, Dale, Saint Helena Island, Lobeco, Okatie, Sheldon. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Beaufort area?

Distribution of 239 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Beaufort, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
12 M
32 J
29 J
40 A
66 S
54 O
6 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Beaufort area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 39 mi
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 145 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 23 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 104 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 70 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 58 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 95 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 115 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 89 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 81 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 130 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 197 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 25 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 31 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 118 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Beaufort. 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 Beaufort

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1909 UNNAMED TS 45 kt 3 mi Jul 03, 1909
2021 DANNY TS 40 kt 3 mi Jun 29, 2021
1873 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 6 mi Sep 20, 1873
1959 GRACIE Cat 4 115 kt 6 mi Sep 29, 1959
1894 UNNAMED Cat 3 105 kt 9 mi Sep 27, 1894
1952 ABLE Cat 2 85 kt 10 mi Aug 31, 1952
1928 UNNAMED Cat 5 140 kt 10 mi Sep 18, 1928
2022 COLIN TS 35 kt 10 mi Jul 01, 2022
1981 UNNAMED TD 30 kt 11 mi Jul 03, 1981
1945 UNNAMED Cat 4 115 kt 12 mi Sep 17, 1945
Showing the 10 closest of 239 total storms within 150 mi of Beaufort since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Beaufort

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Beaufort (32.4335°N, 80.6728°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Beaufort — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.