No active hurricanes threatening Ocean City right now

Could the next one hit soon? 166 hurricanes have impacted the Ocean City area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

166
Hurricanes affecting Ocean City area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
7 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Ocean City's low-lying barrier island position along the Maryland coast makes storm surge the dominant threat, with back-bay flooding and ocean overwash seen in recent events such as Hurricane Sandy (2012) and close tropical strikes that have produced major surge and beach erosion.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Ocean City area — including Berlin, Bishopville, Showell, Whaleyville, Newark, Willards, Powellville, Pittsville. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Ocean City area?

Distribution of 166 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Ocean City, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
3 M
20 J
15 J
36 A
62 S
25 O
4 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Ocean City area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 23 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 102 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 105 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 174 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 169 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 75 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 150 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 115 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 65 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 20 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 166 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 97 mi
2006 ERNESTO Cat 1 65 kt 89 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Ocean City. 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 Ocean City

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1944 UNNAMED Cat 4 125 kt 7 mi Oct 21, 1944
1882 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 10 mi Sep 12, 1882
1961 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 13 mi Sep 15, 1961
1971 DORIA TS 55 kt 14 mi Aug 28, 1971
1886 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 17 mi Jul 02, 1886
1902 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 18 mi Jun 16, 1902
2015 ANA TS 50 kt 19 mi May 12, 2015
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 20 mi Aug 28, 2011
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 23 mi Jul 09, 2021
2004 GASTON Cat 1 65 kt 25 mi Aug 31, 2004
Showing the 10 closest of 166 total storms within 150 mi of Ocean City since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Ocean City

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Ocean City (38.3792°N, 75.0810°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Ocean City — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.