No active hurricanes threatening Hilton Head Island right now

Could the next one hit soon? 243 hurricanes have impacted the Hilton Head Island area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

243
Hurricanes affecting Hilton Head Island area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
4 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Low-lying barrier-island geography and proximity to the shallow waters of Calibogue Sound make storm surge the primary hazard for Hilton Head Island, with recent major surge and wind impacts from storms like Hurricane Ian (2022) and the Cat 4 nearby passes of Helene (2024) and Idalia (2023) highlighting its vulnerability.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Hilton Head Island area — including Daufuskie Island, Bluffton, Okatie, Port Royal, Beaufort, Hardeeville, Saint Helena Island, Ladys Island. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Hilton Head Island area?

Distribution of 243 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Hilton Head Island, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
11 M
33 J
28 J
41 A
69 S
54 O
6 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Hilton Head Island area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 23 mi
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 146 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 38 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 113 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 75 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 53 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 91 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 134 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 86 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 99 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 145 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 184 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 16 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 31 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 117 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Hilton Head Island. 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 Hilton Head Island

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1871 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 4 mi Oct 06, 1871
1976 UNNAMED TS 40 kt 4 mi Sep 15, 1976
1911 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 4 mi Aug 28, 1911
1898 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 5 mi Aug 31, 1898
1940 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 5 mi Aug 11, 1940
1966 ALMA Cat 3 100 kt 9 mi Jun 10, 1966
1916 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 9 mi May 16, 1916
1945 UNNAMED Cat 4 115 kt 10 mi Sep 17, 1945
1894 UNNAMED Cat 3 105 kt 10 mi Sep 27, 1894
1952 ABLE Cat 2 85 kt 13 mi Aug 31, 1952
Showing the 10 closest of 243 total storms within 150 mi of Hilton Head Island since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Hilton Head Island

  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 Hilton Head Island

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Hilton Head Island (32.1632°N, 80.7533°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Hilton Head Island — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.