No active hurricanes threatening Gulf Shores right now

Could the next one hit soon? 178 hurricanes have impacted the Gulf Shores area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

178
Hurricanes affecting Gulf Shores area
2021
Most recent
150 kt
Strongest peak winds
2 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Perched on Alabama's low-lying Gulf barrier shoreline, Gulf Shores is most at risk from storm surge and coastal flooding — recent storms including Category 2 Sally (2020) and Category 3 Zeta (2020) produced notable surge and coastal damage.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Gulf Shores area — including Bon Secour, Foley, Orange Beach, Magnolia Springs, Elberta, Summerdale, Lillian, Silverhill. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Gulf Shores area?

Distribution of 178 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Gulf Shores, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
1 M
16 J
24 J
37 A
61 S
36 O
3 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Gulf Shores area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 FRANCINE Cat 2 90 kt 155 mi
2022 NICOLE Cat 1 65 kt 196 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 167 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 2 mi
2020 MARCO Cat 1 65 kt 121 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 131 mi
2019 BARRY Cat 1 65 kt 142 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 122 mi
2017 NATE Cat 1 80 kt 72 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 196 mi
2012 ISAAC Cat 1 70 kt 133 mi
2009 IDA Cat 2 90 kt 17 mi
2008 PALOMA Cat 4 125 kt 158 mi
2008 GUSTAV Cat 4 135 kt 181 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2008 that came within 200 miles of Gulf Shores. 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 Gulf Shores

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1889 UNNAMED Cat 2 95 kt 2 mi Sep 23, 1889
1926 UNNAMED Cat 4 130 kt 2 mi Sep 21, 1926
1985 JUAN Cat 1 75 kt 2 mi Oct 31, 1985
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 2 mi Sep 16, 2020
1894 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 7 mi Aug 07, 1894
1939 UNNAMED TS 55 kt 7 mi Jun 16, 1939
1959 IRENE TS 40 kt 7 mi Oct 08, 1959
1997 DANNY Cat 1 70 kt 7 mi Jul 20, 1997
1911 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 9 mi Aug 12, 1911
2004 IVAN Cat 5 145 kt 12 mi Sep 16, 2004
Showing the 10 closest of 178 total storms within 150 mi of Gulf Shores since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Gulf Shores

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Gulf Shores (30.269°N, 87.7128°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Gulf Shores — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.