No active hurricanes threatening Charleston right now

Could the next one hit soon? 255 hurricanes have impacted the Charleston area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

255
Hurricanes affecting Charleston area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
4 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Charleston's low-lying harbor, extensive tidal creeks, and nearby barrier islands make storm surge and coastal flooding the dominant threats — recent close impacts from storms such as Hurricane Idalia (2023) and Ian (2022) underscore how powerful tropical systems can drive surge and inundation into the city.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Charleston area — including North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Sullivans Island, Folly Beach, Isle Of Palms, Johns Island, Charleston Afb, Goose Creek. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Charleston area?

Distribution of 255 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Charleston, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
12 M
35 J
30 J
44 A
76 S
51 O
6 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Charleston area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 25 mi
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 184 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 56 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 56 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 103 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 49 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 61 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 104 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 60 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 57 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 137 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 19 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 71 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 95 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 172 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Charleston. 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 Charleston

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1874 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 4 mi Sep 28, 1874
1977 CLARA Cat 1 65 kt 4 mi Sep 05, 1977
2007 BARRY TS 50 kt 4 mi Jun 03, 2007
1989 HUGO Cat 5 140 kt 8 mi Sep 22, 1989
2016 BONNIE TS 40 kt 8 mi May 29, 2016
1910 UNNAMED Cat 4 130 kt 10 mi Oct 20, 1910
1960 BRENDA TS 60 kt 14 mi Jul 29, 1960
1884 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 15 mi Sep 12, 1884
2022 COLIN TS 35 kt 15 mi Jul 02, 2022
1885 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 16 mi Aug 25, 1885
Showing the 10 closest of 255 total storms within 150 mi of Charleston since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Charleston

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Charleston (32.7795°N, 79.9371°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Charleston — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.