No active hurricanes threatening Wilmington right now

Could the next one hit soon? 261 hurricanes have impacted the Wilmington area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

261
Hurricanes affecting Wilmington area
2025
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
4 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Wilmington's low-lying coastal position on the Cape Fear River estuary makes storm surge and coastal flooding the dominant hazards, with frequent hurricane strikes — notably Hurricane Isaias (2020) and the region-wrenching impacts of Hurricane Ian (2022) — producing damaging surge, wind, and inland flood impacts.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Wilmington area — including Winnabow, Castle Hayne, Leland, Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Rocky Point, Southport, Delco. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Wilmington area?

Distribution of 261 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Wilmington, by month of closest approach.

J
1 F
M
A
11 M
36 J
26 J
45 A
84 S
50 O
6 N
2 D

Recent notable storms affecting the Wilmington area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2025 DEXTER Cat 1 70 kt 152 mi
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 124 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 65 mi
2022 IAN Cat 5 140 kt 79 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 107 mi
2020 ISAIAS Cat 1 80 kt 39 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 105 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 164 mi
2019 DORIAN Cat 5 160 kt 57 mi
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 8 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 151 mi
2018 CHRIS Cat 2 90 kt 165 mi
2016 MATTHEW Cat 5 145 kt 43 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 63 mi
2014 ARTHUR Cat 2 85 kt 40 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2006 that came within 200 miles of Wilmington. 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 Wilmington

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
2002 KYLE Cat 1 75 kt 4 mi Oct 12, 2002
2018 FLORENCE Cat 4 130 kt 8 mi Sep 14, 2018
1881 UNNAMED Cat 2 90 kt 9 mi Sep 09, 1881
1949 UNNAMED TS 45 kt 9 mi Sep 13, 1949
1996 BERTHA Cat 3 100 kt 9 mi Jul 12, 1996
1946 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 13 mi Jul 06, 1946
1872 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 14 mi Oct 25, 1872
1901 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 16 mi Jul 12, 1901
1955 DIANE Cat 2 90 kt 16 mi Aug 17, 1955
1967 UNNAMED TS 45 kt 16 mi Jun 18, 1967
Showing the 10 closest of 261 total storms within 150 mi of Wilmington since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Wilmington

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (New Hanover 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 Wilmington

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Wilmington (34.2253°N, 77.9379°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Wilmington — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.