No active hurricanes threatening Savannah right now

Could the next one hit soon? 230 hurricanes have impacted the Savannah area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

230
Hurricanes affecting Savannah area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
5 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Savannah's low-lying coastal plain and broad estuaries make storm surge and tidal flooding the dominant threats, a vulnerability highlighted when Category 1 Hurricane Debby passed within five miles in 2024 and recent major storms (Idalia 2023, Ian 2022) produced destructive surge and flooding.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Savannah area — including Pooler, Georgetown, Bloomingdale, Tybee Island, Rincon, Richmond Hill, Meldrim, Eden. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Savannah area?

Distribution of 230 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Savannah, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
11 M
31 J
27 J
39 A
66 S
50 O
6 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Savannah area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 5 mi
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 130 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 45 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 130 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 65 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 71 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 102 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 132 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 100 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 107 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 132 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 163 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 24 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 35 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 136 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Savannah. 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 Savannah

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 5 mi Aug 06, 2024
1893 UNNAMED Cat 3 105 kt 6 mi Aug 28, 1893
2007 BARRY TS 50 kt 6 mi Jun 03, 2007
1896 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 11 mi Sep 29, 1896
1911 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 11 mi Aug 28, 1911
1953 FLORENCE Cat 3 100 kt 12 mi Sep 27, 1953
1945 UNNAMED Cat 4 115 kt 12 mi Sep 17, 1945
1854 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 12 mi Sep 09, 1854
1988 CHRIS TS 45 kt 13 mi Aug 28, 1988
1940 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 15 mi Aug 12, 1940
Showing the 10 closest of 230 total storms within 150 mi of Savannah since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Savannah

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Savannah (32.0676°N, 81.1024°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Savannah — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.