No active hurricanes threatening Rehoboth Beach right now

Could the next one hit soon? 154 hurricanes have impacted the Rehoboth Beach area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

154
Hurricanes affecting Rehoboth Beach area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
10 mi
Closest approach
Local note: As a low-lying Delaware shore town on a narrow barrier spit, Rehoboth Beach faces its biggest hurricane hazard from storm surge and coastal flooding that can flood the boardwalk and downtown; recent near-miss impacts from storms like Isaias (2020) and Ida-era activity (2021) highlight frequent surge and wind exposure.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Rehoboth Beach area — including Lewes, Nassau, Harbeson, Millville, Milton, Ocean View, Millsboro, Dagsboro. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Rehoboth Beach area?

Distribution of 154 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Rehoboth Beach, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
3 M
16 J
13 J
36 A
58 S
25 O
2 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Rehoboth Beach area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 30 mi
2021 IDA Cat 4 130 kt 80 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 116 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 179 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 190 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 98 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 200 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 144 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 138 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 60 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 43 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 176 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 94 mi
2006 ERNESTO Cat 1 65 kt 87 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Rehoboth Beach. 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 Rehoboth Beach

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1960 BRENDA TS 60 kt 10 mi Jul 30, 1960
1902 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 14 mi Jun 16, 1902
1971 DORIA TS 55 kt 18 mi Aug 28, 1971
1861 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 20 mi Sep 28, 1861
2004 JEANNE Cat 3 105 kt 23 mi Sep 29, 2004
1882 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 24 mi Sep 12, 1882
1874 UNNAMED Cat 1 80 kt 25 mi Sep 29, 1874
1904 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 27 mi Sep 15, 1904
1944 UNNAMED Cat 4 125 kt 29 mi Oct 21, 1944
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 30 mi Jul 09, 2021
Showing the 10 closest of 154 total storms within 150 mi of Rehoboth Beach since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Rehoboth Beach

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Rehoboth Beach (38.7147°N, 75.1073°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Rehoboth Beach — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.