No active hurricanes threatening Hyannis right now

Could the next one hit soon? 146 hurricanes have impacted the Hyannis area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

146
Hurricanes affecting Hyannis area
2021
Most recent
140 kt
Strongest peak winds
3 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Hyannis’s exposed Cape Cod harbor and low-lying shoreline make storm surge the dominant threat, with powerful offshore tracks producing coastal flooding and damaging winds — recent near-misses and impacts from storms like Hurricane Jose (2017) and the 2021 storms underscore the town’s vulnerability.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Hyannis area — including Hyannis Port, West Hyannisport, Centerville, Barnstable, West Yarmouth, Cummaquid, Osterville, West Barnstable. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Hyannis area?

Distribution of 146 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Hyannis, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
3 M
14 J
10 J
34 A
54 S
26 O
4 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Hyannis area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 36 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 43 mi
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 50 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 166 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 186 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 159 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 177 mi
2017 JOSE Cat 4 135 kt 145 mi
2017 NATE Cat 1 80 kt 196 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 16 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 105 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 155 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 119 mi
2009 BILL Cat 4 115 kt 190 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 74 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2007 that came within 200 miles of Hyannis. 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 Hyannis

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1954 EDNA Cat 3 110 kt 3 mi Sep 11, 1954
1961 ESTHER Cat 5 140 kt 6 mi Sep 26, 1961
1869 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 6 mi Oct 04, 1869
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 16 mi Sep 08, 2016
1888 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 21 mi Sep 26, 1888
1959 CINDY Cat 1 65 kt 21 mi Jul 11, 1959
1934 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 23 mi Jun 20, 1934
1904 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 24 mi Sep 15, 1904
2005 CINDY Cat 1 65 kt 26 mi Jul 09, 2005
1907 UNNAMED TS 55 kt 26 mi Jun 30, 1907
Showing the 10 closest of 146 total storms within 150 mi of Hyannis since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Hyannis

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Hyannis (41.6537°N, 70.2982°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Hyannis — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.