Hurricane Center

While southwest Virginia doesn’t get the brunt of landfalling hurricanes, it’s common to get flooding rain and even gusty wind and tornadoes as tropical systems move inland. This section includes some helpful links to track the latest tropical systems, get vacation travel information and learn about Virginia’s hurricane history.

INTERACTIVE HURRICANE TRACKER

BEACH RESOURCES

Will your beach vacation be impacted by an upcoming system? Tropical storms and hurricanes come in all shapes, sizes and intensities. While WDBJ7 meteorologists track the impacts on our area, getting specific, critical information for an area you are visiting is equally important. Click the area you’ll be visiting for more information on preparedness.

VIRGINIA (Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Beach) National Weather Service | Emergency Management

NORTH CAROLINA (Outer Banks, Wilmington, Ocean Isle, Holden Beach, Sunset Beach) National Weather Service | Emergency Management | Dare County Emergency Management

SOUTH CAROLINA (Myrtle Beach, Cherry Grove, Murrells Inlet, Surfside, Charleston) | Hurricane Guide, South Carolina Department of Public Safety | National Weather Service

HURRICANE RATING SCALE

The National Hurricane Center ranks tropical systems based on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. This scale estimates potential property damage.

RATING	WIND SPEED	NOTES & HISTORIC LANDFALL
Tropical Depression	0 - 38 MPH	Does not get a name but forecasts issued by NHC.
Tropical Storm	39 73 MPH	Receives a name
Category One	74 - 95 MPH	Hurricane Hermine (2016)
Category Two	96 - 110 MPH	Hurricane Ike (2008), Hurricane Isabel (2003)
Category Three	111 - 130 MPH	Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Category Four	131 - 155 MPH	Hurricane Charley (2004), Hurricane Hugo (1989)
Category Five	>156	Hurricane Andrew (1992), Hurricane Michael (2018)

2023 HURRICANE SEASON

NAME	PRONOUNCER	PEAK INTENSITY	ACTIVE DATES
Arlene	ar-LEEN
Bret	bret
Cindy	SIN-dee
Don	dahn
Emily	EH-mih-lee
Franklin	FRANK-lin
Gert	gert
Harold	HAIR-uld
Idalia	ee-DAL-ya
Jose	ho-ZAY
Katia	KAH-tyah
Lee	lee
Margot	nih-KOHL
Nigel	NY-juhl
Ophelia	o-FEEL-ya
Philippe	fee-LEEP
Rina	REE-nuh
Sean	shawn
Tammy	TAM-ee
Vince	vinss
Whitney

2023 HURRICANE PREDICTIONS

Hurricane season predictions are based off decades of historical hurricane seasons and evaluate conditions that include:

Atlantic sea surface temperatures
El Niño
Sea level pressures
Vertical wind shear levels (change in speed and direction of winds with height in the atmosphere)

It’s to be noted the accuracy of predicting the number of storms and hurricanes is quite high, however, there is little/no attempt in the forecasts to determine where any developing storm would develop or make landfall.