Hurricanes that hit Accomack County, Virginia: hurricane history

45 storms have passed within 50 km of Accomack County from 1856 to 2021, coloured by intensity on the map.

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 Accomack County

The record holds 45 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Accomack County, Virginia between 1856 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 19 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 45storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 9at 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 Accomack County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression613%
Tropical storm2862%
Category 1818%
Category 200%
Category 312%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity24%

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

Accomack County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1880s.1850s1870s1890s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2021, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1856, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s2
1870s3
1880s7
1890s2
1900s1
1930s1
1940s1
1950s3
1960s5
1970s3
1980s3
1990s3
2000s5
2010s2
2020s1

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 19 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun2Jul8Aug10Sep19Oct5Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun2
Jul8
Aug10
Sep19
Oct5
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Accomack County

  • Unnamed storm of August 1879 (North Atlantic)12 August 1879 to 20 August 1879, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 971 hPa
  • Barbara (1953)11 August 1953 to 16 August 1953, peak Category 1 (80 kt), 973 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1894 (North Atlantic)26 September 1894 to 12 October 1894, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1935 (North Atlantic)29 August 1935 to 10 September 1935, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 892 hPa
  • Connie (1955)3 August 1955 to 15 August 1955, Category 1 (75 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 944 hPa

Most recent storms near Accomack County

  • Elsa (2021)30 June 2021 to 10 July 2021, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (75 kt), 991 hPa
  • Ana (2015)6 May 2015 to 12 May 2015, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (50 kt), 998 hPa
  • Irene (2011)21 August 2011 to 30 August 2011, Category 1 (65 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 942 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.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Accomack County

  • Floyd (1999)7 September 1999 to 19 September 1999, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 921 hPa
  • Connie (1955)3 August 1955 to 15 August 1955, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 944 hPa
  • Ginger (1971)6 September 1971 to 6 October 1971, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 959 hPa

More in Virginia

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.