No active hurricanes threatening Virginia Beach right now

Could the next one hit soon? 216 hurricanes have impacted the Virginia Beach area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

216
Hurricanes affecting Virginia Beach area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
5 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Long, low-lying barrier islands and a broad Atlantic-facing coastline make storm surge the primary hazard for Virginia Beach — recent near misses and impacts from storms like Hurricane Isaias (2020) and Category 3 Zeta (2020) underscore its vulnerability to surge and damaging winds.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Virginia Beach area — including Chesapeake, Norfolk, Fort Monroe, Portsmouth, Townsend, Capeville, Hampton, Seaview. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Virginia Beach area?

Distribution of 216 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Virginia Beach, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
8 M
25 J
21 J
39 A
75 S
40 O
6 N
1 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Virginia Beach area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 79 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 74 mi
2020 ZETA Cat 3 100 kt 138 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 116 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 62 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 196 mi
2017 MARIA Cat 5 150 kt 197 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 78 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 149 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 78 mi
2012 SANDY Cat 3 100 kt 172 mi
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 19 mi
2010 EARL Cat 4 125 kt 152 mi
2008 HANNA Cat 1 75 kt 76 mi
2007 ANDREA Cat 1 65 kt 145 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Virginia 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 Virginia Beach

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
2004 CHARLEY Cat 4 130 kt 5 mi Aug 15, 2004
1854 UNNAMED Cat 3 110 kt 6 mi Sep 10, 1854
2001 ALLISON TS 50 kt 6 mi Jun 16, 2001
1856 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 10 mi Aug 20, 1856
1881 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 10 mi Sep 10, 1881
1882 UNNAMED TS 50 kt 12 mi Sep 23, 1882
1961 UNNAMED TS 60 kt 17 mi Sep 14, 1961
1979 BOB Cat 1 65 kt 18 mi Jul 15, 1979
2011 IRENE Cat 3 105 kt 19 mi Aug 28, 2011
2015 ANA TS 50 kt 20 mi May 11, 2015
Showing the 10 closest of 216 total storms within 150 mi of Virginia Beach since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Virginia Beach

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

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Virginia Beach (36.8527°N, 75.9783°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Virginia Beach — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.