No active hurricanes threatening New York right now

Could the next one hit soon? 99 hurricanes have impacted the New York area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

99
Hurricanes affecting New York area
2021
Most recent
150 kt
Strongest peak winds
6 mi
Closest approach
Local note: New York City's low-lying waterfronts and narrow estuaries make storm surge and coastal flooding the primary hurricane hazards, as seen when Hurricane Sandy's 2012 surge devastated subway tunnels and more recent storms like Henri (2021) and Isaias (2020) produced damaging surge, wind, and inland flooding across the metro area.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the New York area — including Long Island City, Brooklyn, Sunnyside, Astoria, Woodside, Maspeth, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the New York area?

Distribution of 99 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of New York, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
3 M
9 J
8 J
24 A
36 S
17 O
2 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the New York area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 192 mi
2021 HENRI Cat 1 65 kt 53 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 56 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 64 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 59 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 149 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 107 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 124 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 183 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 90 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 10 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 58 mi
2006 ERNESTO Cat 1 65 kt 154 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of New York. 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 New York

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1893 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 6 mi Aug 24, 1893
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 10 mi Aug 28, 2011
1872 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 14 mi Oct 26, 1872
1915 UNNAMED Cat 1 65 kt 19 mi Aug 04, 1915
1960 BRENDA TS 60 kt 20 mi Jul 30, 1960
1874 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 23 mi Sep 30, 1874
1934 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 25 mi Jun 19, 1934
1999 FLOYD Cat 4 135 kt 28 mi Sep 17, 1999
1955 DIANE Cat 2 90 kt 32 mi Aug 19, 1955
1900 UNNAMED TS 40 kt 35 mi Oct 14, 1900
Showing the 10 closest of 99 total storms within 150 mi of New York since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens New York

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between New York (40.7484°N, 73.9967°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of New York — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.