No active hurricanes threatening Port Charlotte right now

Could the next one hit soon? 198 hurricanes have impacted the Port Charlotte area since 1852 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

198
Hurricanes affecting Port Charlotte area
2024
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
6 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Located on Florida's shallow Gulf Coast estuaries, Port Charlotte is especially vulnerable to storm surge and destructive winds from strong west-approaching hurricanes — Hurricane Ian's 2022 Cat 5 landfall is the recent defining surge and wind event.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Port Charlotte area — including Murdock, El Jobean, North Port, Punta Gorda, Rotonda West, Englewood, Placida, Captiva. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Port Charlotte area?

Distribution of 198 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Port Charlotte, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
3 M
23 J
15 J
43 A
51 S
50 O
11 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Port Charlotte area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 MILTON Cat 5 155 kt 40 mi
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 134 mi
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 177 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 158 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 15 mi
2022 NICOLE Cat 1 65 kt 78 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 70 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 71 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 97 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 159 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 30 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 158 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 181 mi
2012 ISAAC Cat 1 70 kt 164 mi
2007 ANDREA Cat 1 65 kt 192 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Port Charlotte. 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 Port Charlotte

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1901 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 6 mi Aug 11, 1901
2004 CHARLEY Cat 4 130 kt 6 mi Aug 13, 2004
1971 UNNAMED TD 25 kt 9 mi Aug 13, 1971
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 15 mi Sep 28, 2022
1878 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 16 mi Sep 08, 1878
1904 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 16 mi Oct 18, 1904
1933 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 16 mi Jul 31, 1933
1953 HAZEL Cat 1 75 kt 20 mi Oct 09, 1953
1921 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 21 mi Oct 16, 1921
1897 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 22 mi Sep 21, 1897
Showing the 10 closest of 198 total storms within 150 mi of Port Charlotte since 1852.

If a hurricane threatens Port Charlotte

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Port Charlotte (26.9827°N, 82.1412°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Port Charlotte — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.