No active hurricanes threatening Key West right now

Could the next one hit soon? 184 hurricanes have impacted the Key West area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

184
Hurricanes affecting Key West area
2024
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
3 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Surrounded by shallow reefs and barely above sea level (average ~5 ft), Key West is most threatened by storm surge from any quadrant — recent powerful impacts include Hurricane Ian (2022) and Category‑3 Rafael (2024), underscoring surge and damaging winds from storms tracking the Florida Straits.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Key West area — including Summerland Key, Big Pine Key. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Key West area?

Distribution of 184 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Key West, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
4 M
22 J
11 J
34 A
48 S
51 O
12 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Key West area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 102 mi
2024 RAFAEL Cat 3 105 kt 136 mi
2024 MILTON Cat 5 155 kt 184 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 197 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 72 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 59 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 175 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 38 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 72 mi
2020 LAURA Cat 4 130 kt 184 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 185 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 17 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 58 mi
2012 ISAAC Cat 1 70 kt 58 mi
2010 PAULA Cat 2 90 kt 116 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Key West. 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 Key West

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1966 INEZ Cat 5 140 kt 3 mi Oct 05, 1966
1865 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 5 mi Oct 23, 1865
1994 GORDON Cat 1 75 kt 5 mi Nov 15, 1994
1998 GEORGES Cat 4 135 kt 5 mi Sep 25, 1998
2008 FAY TS 60 kt 5 mi Aug 18, 2008
1948 UNNAMED Cat 4 115 kt 10 mi Sep 21, 1948
1999 IRENE Cat 2 95 kt 10 mi Oct 15, 1999
1987 UNNAMED TD 30 kt 12 mi Jun 01, 1987
1876 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 13 mi Oct 20, 1876
1897 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 14 mi Sep 10, 1897
Showing the 10 closest of 184 total storms within 150 mi of Key West since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Key West

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Key West (24.5653°N, 81.7622°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Key West — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.