Historical record — not a forecast
Orange Beach
Orange Beach, AL has had 48 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
Orange Beach
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The historical record
Storm history
48 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Orange Beach 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
- 8
- Tropical Storm
- 20
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 10
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 8
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 1
- 1900s
- 1
- 1910s
- 7
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 4
- 1940s
- 3
- 1950s
- 3
- 1960s
- 3
- 1970s
- 1
- 1980s
- 3
- 1990s
- 4
- 2000s
- 6
- 2010s
- 1
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt) passed within 57.8 km in 1882
- Most recent
- Sally (2020, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 10.1 km in 2020
- Coordinates
- 30.29399, -87.59537
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1882) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 57.8 km on 1882-09-10
- Dennis (2005) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 49.0 km on 2005-07-10
- Ivan (2004) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 31.1 km on 2004-09-16
- Elena (1985) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 71.9 km on 1985-09-02
- Unnamed storm (1916) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 58.6 km on 1916-07-05
- Opal (1995) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 47.6 km on 1995-10-04
- Unnamed storm (1926) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 9.2 km on 1926-09-20
- Unnamed storm (1917) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 67.6 km on 1917-09-29
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 Orange Beach?
Since 1851, 48 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Orange Beach, AL, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Orange Beach?
an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt) passed within 57.8 km in 1882, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Orange Beach?
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.