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)

2021 HURRICANE NAMES

NAME	PRONOUNCER	PEAK INTENSITY	ACTIVE DATES
Ana	AH-nah	Tropical Storm	May 22-24
Bill	bill	Tropical Storm	June 14-15
Claudette	Claw-dette	Tropical Storm	June 19-22
Danny	DAN-ee	Tropical Storm	June 27-29
Elsa	EL-suh	CAT 1	July 1-9
Fred	frehd	Tropical Storm	August 11-18
Grace	grayss	CAT 3	August 13-21
Henri	ahn-REE	CAT 1	August 16-23
Ida	EYE-duh	CAT 4	August 26-September 1
Kate	kayt	Tropical Storm	August 28-September 1
Julian	JOO-lee-uhn	Tropical Storm	August 29-30
Larry	LAIR-ree	CAT 3	August 31 - September 11
Mindy	MIN-dee	Tropical Storm	September 8-10
Nicholas	NIH-kuh-luss	CAT 1	September 12-16
Odette	oh-DEHT	Tropical Storm	September 17-18
Peter	PEE-tur	Tropical Storm	September 19-23
Rose	rohz	Tropical Storm	September 19-23
Sam	sam	CAT 4	September 22- October 5
Teresa	tuh-REE-suh	Tropical Storm	September 24-25
Victor	VIK-tur	Tropical Storm	September 29 - October 4
Wanda	WAHN-duh	Tropical Storm	October 31 - November 7