Mapping Hurricane Risk on America’s Eastern Seaboard
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Hurricanes are a fact of life for people living along America’s Atlantic Coast. Of course, the risk of a hurricane making landfall varies depending where people live along that expansive coastline.
This infographic uses data from the Tropical Cyclone Impact Probabilities database at Colorado State University to show county-level risk (the red parts) of a hurricane impact, along with population centers along the coast (the spikes).
Potential Hurricane Hotspots
While a hurricane can make landfall anywhere along the coast, there are places where the probability of that happening is higher in 2024.
Below is the full list of counties and states, which includes other countries in North America as well, including Mexico (which, at the time of publishing, is being battered by Hurricane Beryl).
StateCountyHurricanes (1880-2020)Avg Probability of Hurricane Impact (2024)
Alabama4643%
AlabamaBaldwin2829%
AlabamaMobile2829%
Connecticut1113%
ConnecticutFairfield910%
ConnecticutMiddlesex1011%
ConnecticutNew Haven1113%
ConnecticutNew London1011%
Delaware910%
DelawareKent45%
DelawareNew Castle11%
DelawareSussex910%
Florida11575%
FloridaBay2627%
FloridaBrevard2627%
FloridaBroward3635%
FloridaCharlotte2627%
FloridaCitrus2627%
FloridaCollier3434%
FloridaDixie1921%
FloridaDuval2223%
FloridaEscambia2728%
FloridaFlagler2223%
FloridaFranklin2123%
FloridaGulf2324%
FloridaHernando2627%
FloridaHillsborough2728%
FloridaIndian River2627%
FloridaJefferson1416%
FloridaLee2829%
FloridaLevy2223%
FloridaManatee2829%
FloridaMartin2728%
FloridaMiami-Dade3736%
FloridaMonroe5046%
FloridaNassau2022%
FloridaOkaloosa2425%
FloridaPalm Beach3434%
FloridaPasco2627%
FloridaPinellas2627%
FloridaSanta Rosa2526%
FloridaSarasota2627%
FloridaSt. Johns2324%
FloridaSt. Lucie2324%
FloridaTaylor1618%
FloridaVolusia2627%
FloridaWakulla1820%
FloridaWalton2627%
Georgia5146%
GeorgiaBryan2123%
GeorgiaCamden1820%
GeorgiaChatham2223%
GeorgiaGlynn1517%
GeorgiaLiberty2223%
GeorgiaMcIntosh2123%
Louisiana6856%
LouisianaCameron 2324%
LouisianaIberia2526%
LouisianaJefferson3031%
LouisianaLafourche3333%
LouisianaOrleans2324%
LouisianaPlaquemines3535%
LouisianaSt. Bernard3333%
LouisianaSt. Mary2728%
LouisianaSt. Tammany2425%
LouisianaTerrebonne3434%
LouisianaVermilion2425%
Maine1011%
MaineCumberland34%
MaineHancock67%
MaineKnox67%
MaineLincoln34%
MaineSagadahoc34%
MaineWaldo34%
MaineWashington67%
MaineYork56%
Maryland1618%
MarylandAnne Arundel11%
MarylandBaltimore11%
MarylandBaltimore City11%
MarylandCalvert22%
MarylandCecil11%
MarylandDorchester56%
MarylandHarford00%
MarylandKent00%
MarylandQueen Anne’s11%
MarylandSomerset910%
MarylandSt. Mary’s34%
MarylandTalbot11%
MarylandWicomico67%
MarylandWorcester1315%
Massachusetts2223%
MassachusettsBarnstable1315%
MassachusettsDukes1113%
MassachusettsEssex78%
MassachusettsNantucket1416%
MassachusettsNorfolk78%
MassachusettsPlymouth1011%
MassachusettsSuffolk78%
Mississippi4743%
MississippiHancock2223%
MississippiHarrison2627%
MississippiJackson2425%
New Hampshire89%
New HampshireRockingham56%
New Jersey1011%
New JerseyAtlantic1011%
New JerseyBurlington89%
New JerseyCape May1011%
New JerseyEssex45%
New JerseyHudson45%
New JerseyMiddlesex56%
New JerseyMonmouth910%
New JerseyOcean1011%
New JerseySalem22%
New JerseyUnion45%
New York1416%
New YorkBronx78%
New YorkKings67%
New YorkNassau89%
New YorkNew York910%
New YorkQueens89%
New YorkRichmond78%
New YorkSuffolk1214%
New YorkWestchester78%
North Carolina6856%
North CarolinaBeaufort2223%
North CarolinaBertie1517%
North CarolinaBrunswick3232%
North CarolinaCamden2022%
North CarolinaCarteret4643%
North CarolinaChowan1719%
North CarolinaCraven3131%
North CarolinaCurrituck2223%
North CarolinaDare4542%
North CarolinaGates1214%
North CarolinaHertford1113%
North CarolinaHyde4542%
North CarolinaNew Hanover3232%
North CarolinaOnslow3535%
North CarolinaPamlico3131%
North CarolinaPasquotank1921%
North CarolinaPender3535%
North CarolinaPerquimans1820%
North CarolinaTyrrell2627%
North CarolinaWashington1921%
Rhode Island1113%
Rhode IslandBristol89%
Rhode IslandKent89%
Rhode IslandNewport1011%
Rhode IslandProvidence910%
Rhode IslandWashington/South910%
South Carolina4844%
South CarolinaBeaufort2223%
South CarolinaCharleston3333%
South CarolinaColleton2627%
South CarolinaGeorgetown2728%
South CarolinaHorry3232%
South CarolinaJasper2123%
Texas6454%
TexasAransas1618%
TexasBrazoria2526%
TexasCalhoun2022%
TexasCameron2022%
TexasChambers2425%
TexasGalveston2930%
TexasHarris2425%
TexasJefferson2526%
TexasKenedy2123%
TexasKleberg1921%
TexasMatagorda2728%
TexasNueces2123%
TexasRefugio1416%
TexasSan Patricio1719%
TexasWillacy1921%
Virginia3131%
VirginiaAccomack1315%
VirginiaGloucester78%
VirginiaHampton1214%
VirginiaLancaster56%
VirginiaMathews78%
VirginiaMiddlesex56%
VirginiaNewport News89%
VirginiaNorfolk1214%
VirginiaNorthampton1315%
VirginiaNorthumberland56%
VirginiaPoquoson910%
VirginiaPortsmouth1011%
VirginiaSuffolk1113%
VirginiaVirginia Beach1820%
VirginiaYork910%
Canada4844%
New Brunswick1113%
Newfoundland and Labrador2425%
Nova Scotia4441%
Prince Edward Island910%
Mexico8364%
Campeche3333%
Quintana Roo5750%
Tabasco89%
Tamaulipas4341%
Veracruz3232%
Yucatan4341%
Anguilla2829%
Antigua and Barbuda2324%
Aruba78%
Bahamas, The10672%
Barbados910%
Belize3031%
Bermuda4240%
Bonaire56%
Cabo Verde45%
Cayman Islands3736%
Costa Rica34%
Cuba10271%
Curacao67%
Dominica2123%
Dominican Republic6152%
Grenada1011%
Guadeloupe2829%
Guatemala2324%
Haiti4240%
Honduras4643%
Jamaica3635%
Martinique1719%
Montserrat2223%
Nicaragua2526%
Panama11%
Puerto Rico3837%
Saba2324%
Saint Kitts and Nevis3232%
Saint Lucia1517%
Saint Martin2324%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1315%
Sint Eustatius2324%
Sint Maarten2324%
Trinidad and Tobago34%
Turks and Caicos3232%
UK Virgin Islands3535%
US Virgin Islands3031%
The counties that make up the southern tip of Florida have the highest risk of a major hurricane impact. Monroe County, which includes Key West, has a 46% chance of a hurricane impact, and a 27% chance of a major hurricane impact.
Another potential hurricane hotspot is the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. Three counties that include the Outer Banks find themselves in the top five ranking for hurricane impact risk. Unlike Florida though, the risk of a major hurricane impact is much lower.
The three counties along the coast near Houston, Texas, have between 25–30% risk of a hurricane impact. Galveston is no stranger to hurricane activity. The constant threat of storms making impact was one reason Houston—which is further inland—grew to be the much bigger city.
The post Mapped: Hurricane Risk on America’s Eastern Seaboard appeared first on Visual Capitalist.