No active hurricanes threatening Cape May right now

Could the next one hit soon? 150 hurricanes have impacted the Cape May area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

150
Hurricanes affecting Cape May area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
10 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Sitting on New Jersey’s southern tip with low-lying barrier beaches and a long back-bay coastline, Cape May’s primary hurricane hazard is storm surge and coastal flooding — recent storms like 2021’s Ida underscored the town’s vulnerability to high surge and overwash.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Cape May area — including Cape May Point, Villas, Rio Grande, Green Creek, Wildwood, Whitesboro, Stone Harbor, Cape May Court House. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Cape May area?

Distribution of 150 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Cape May, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
3 M
15 J
13 J
36 A
56 S
24 O
2 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Cape May area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 50 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 68 mi
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 185 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 134 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 176 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 115 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 189 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 131 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 142 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 41 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 41 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 176 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 75 mi
2006 ERNESTO Cat 1 65 kt 96 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Cape May. 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 Cape May

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1861 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 10 mi Sep 28, 1861
1904 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 10 mi Sep 15, 1904
2005 CINDY Cat 1 65 kt 11 mi Jul 08, 2005
1903 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 15 mi Sep 16, 1903
2004 JEANNE Cat 3 105 kt 17 mi Sep 29, 2004
1877 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 23 mi Oct 05, 1877
1916 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 23 mi May 17, 1916
1902 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 26 mi Jun 16, 1902
1960 BRENDA TS 60 kt 27 mi Jul 30, 1960
1944 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 28 mi Aug 03, 1944
Showing the 10 closest of 150 total storms within 150 mi of Cape May since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Cape May

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Cape May (38.9692°N, 74.9262°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Cape May — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.