No active hurricanes threatening Norfolk right now

Could the next one hit soon? 210 hurricanes have impacted the Norfolk area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

210
Hurricanes affecting Norfolk area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
3 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Norfolk's low-lying coastal position on Hampton Roads makes storm surge and tidal flooding the dominant threats, amplified by its complex river/estuary network and naval basins; Hurricane Isabel (2003) and more recent near-misses like Isaias (2020) underscore frequent surge and inundation impacts.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Norfolk area — including Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Fort Monroe, Hampton, Suffolk, Carrollton, Virginia Beach, Newport News. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Norfolk area?

Distribution of 210 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Norfolk, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
7 M
23 J
20 J
42 A
76 S
36 O
4 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Norfolk area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 189 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 62 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 192 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 65 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 124 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 120 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 78 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 190 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 84 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 149 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 84 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 184 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 34 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 168 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 70 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Norfolk. 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 Norfolk

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1979 BOB Cat 1 65 kt 3 mi Jul 15, 1979
1959 CINDY Cat 1 65 kt 7 mi Jul 10, 1959
2015 ANA TS 50 kt 11 mi May 11, 2015
1882 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 15 mi Sep 23, 1882
1960 BRENDA TS 60 kt 16 mi Jul 30, 1960
2001 ALLISON TS 50 kt 18 mi Jun 16, 2001
1916 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 19 mi May 17, 1916
1856 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 19 mi Aug 20, 1856
1881 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 19 mi Sep 10, 1881
1854 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 22 mi Sep 10, 1854
Showing the 10 closest of 210 total storms within 150 mi of Norfolk since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Norfolk

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Norfolk (36.8466°N, 76.2855°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Norfolk — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.