Hurricane History Map

British Virgin Islands storm history

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

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

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 British Virgin Islands

The record holds 66 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of the British Virgin Islands between 1852 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 26 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 10 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 66storms within 50 km
  • 8major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 23at 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 British Virgin Islands?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression69%
Tropical storm2741%
Category 1812%
Category 2711%
Category 358%
Category 423%
Category 512%
Unknown intensity1015%

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

British Virgin Islands storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1870s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

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
1850s3
1860s5
1870s7
1880s4
1890s2
1900s3
1910s1
1920s4
1930s7
1940s3
1950s2
1960s1
1970s5
1980s4
1990s4
2000s3
2010s6
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 26 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun0Jul5Aug19Sep26Oct12Nov3Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0
Jul5
Aug19
Sep26
Oct12
Nov3
Dec1

Strongest storms near British Virgin Islands

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1932 (North Atlantic)25 September 1932 to 2 October 1932, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 943 hPa
  • Earl (2010)24 August 2010 to 6 September 2010, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 927 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1867 (North Atlantic)27 October 1867 to 1 November 1867, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 952 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1871 (North Atlantic)17 August 1871 to 31 August 1871, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 962 hPa

Most recent storms near British Virgin Islands

  • Ernesto (2024)11 August 2024 to 20 August 2024, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (85 kt), 967 hPa
  • Philippe (2023)23 September 2023 to 6 October 2023, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 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
  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 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 British Virgin Islands with their own pages

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Earl (2010)24 August 2010 to 6 September 2010, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 927 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa
  • Marilyn (1995)12 September 1995 to 1 October 1995, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 950 hPa
  • Gonzalo (2014)11 October 2014 to 20 October 2014, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 940 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
  • Edna (1953)15 September 1953 to 21 September 1953, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 962 hPa
  • Frederic (1979)29 August 1979 to 15 September 1979, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 943 hPa
  • Floyd (1981)3 September 1981 to 12 September 1981, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 975 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa

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