United States Virgin Islands storm history

65 storms have passed within 50 km of United States Virgin Islands from 1852 to 2024, drawn on the map and coloured by intensity.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near United States Virgin Islands

The record holds 65 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of United States Virgin Islands between 1852 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 24 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 8 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 65storms within 50 km
  • 12major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 30at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near United States Virgin Islands?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression35%
Tropical storm2437%
Category 1914%
Category 2914%
Category 346%
Category 458%
Category 535%
Unknown intensity812%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

United States Virgin Islands storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 6 in 1870s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s4
1860s3
1870s6
1880s3
1890s6
1900s2
1910s4
1920s3
1930s4
1940s2
1950s3
1970s4
1980s3
1990s6
2000s5
2010s5
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 24 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul6Aug19Sep24Oct11Nov4Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul6
Aug19
Sep24
Oct11
Nov4
Dec1

Strongest storms near United States Virgin Islands

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1928 (North Atlantic)6 September 1928 to 21 September 1928, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 929 hPa
  • Lenny (1999)13 November 1999 to 23 November 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 933 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1899 (North Atlantic)3 August 1899 to 4 September 1899, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, Category 4 (130 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa

Most recent storms near United States Virgin Islands

  • Ernesto (2024)11 August 2024 to 20 August 2024, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 967 hPa
  • Laura (2020)20 August 2020 to 29 August 2020, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 937 hPa
  • Karen (2019)22 September 2019 to 27 September 2019, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

Notable storms near United States Virgin Islands with their own pages

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Maria (2017)16 September 2017 to 2 October 2017, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 909 hPa
  • Lenny (1999)13 November 1999 to 23 November 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 933 hPa
  • Hugo (1989)10 September 1989 to 25 September 1989, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 918 hPa
  • Omar (2008)13 October 2008 to 21 October 2008, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 958 hPa
  • Marilyn (1995)12 September 1995 to 1 October 1995, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Georges (1998)15 September 1998 to 1 October 1998, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 937 hPa
  • Betsy (1956)9 August 1956 to 21 August 1956, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Bertha (1996)5 July 1996 to 17 July 1996, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 960 hPa
  • Dorian (2019)24 August 2019 to 9 September 2019, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 910 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 hPa
  • Jeanne (2004)13 September 2004 to 29 September 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 951 hPa

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