Historical record — not a forecast
Gulf Shores
Gulf Shores, AL has had 47 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Frederic (1979, Category 4 Hurricane).
Location 01
Gulf Shores
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The historical record
Storm history
47 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Gulf Shores since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 7
- Tropical Storm
- 20
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 10
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 7
- Category 4 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 1
- 1900s
- 1
- 1910s
- 6
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 4
- 1940s
- 3
- 1950s
- 3
- 1960s
- 2
- 1970s
- 2
- 1980s
- 3
- 1990s
- 4
- 2000s
- 6
- 2010s
- 1
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Frederic (1979, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 70.3 km in 1979
- Most recent
- Sally (2020, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 2.5 km in 2020
- Coordinates
- 30.27717, -87.70235
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Frederic (1979) — Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt, passed within 70.3 km on 1979-09-13
- Unnamed storm (1882) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 65.6 km on 1882-09-10
- Dennis (2005) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 59.4 km on 2005-07-10
- Ivan (2004) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 20.8 km on 2004-09-16
- Elena (1985) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 75.0 km on 1985-09-02
- Unnamed storm (1916) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 50.8 km on 1916-07-05
- Opal (1995) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 57.9 km on 1995-10-04
- Unnamed storm (1926) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 2.5 km on 1926-09-21
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 4.4 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 8.8 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 21.9 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Gulf Shores?
Since 1851, 47 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Gulf Shores, AL, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Gulf Shores?
Frederic (1979, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 70.3 km in 1979, reaching Category 4 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Gulf Shores?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.