Historical record — not a forecast
Tybee Island
Tybee Island, GA has had 68 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being Gracie (1959, Category 4 Hurricane).
Location 01
Tybee Island
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The historical record
Storm history
68 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Tybee Island 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
- 15
- Tropical Storm
- 35
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 7
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 8
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 2
- Category 4 Hurricane
- 1
By decade
- 1850s
- 1
- 1860s
- 1
- 1870s
- 7
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 5
- 1900s
- 3
- 1910s
- 5
- 1920s
- 2
- 1930s
- 1
- 1940s
- 5
- 1950s
- 7
- 1960s
- 2
- 1970s
- 5
- 1980s
- 6
- 2000s
- 5
- 2010s
- 5
- 2020s
- 3
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- Gracie (1959, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 59.5 km in 1959
- Most recent
- Debby (2024, Tropical Storm, 40 kt) passed within 23.0 km in 2024
- Coordinates
- 32.01022, -80.85590
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Gracie (1959) — Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt, passed within 59.5 km on 1959-09-29
- Unnamed storm (1893) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 33.9 km on 1893-08-28
- Unnamed storm (1854) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 41.5 km on 1854-09-08
- Unnamed storm (1947) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 23.7 km on 1947-10-15
- Unnamed storm (1885) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 69.4 km on 1885-08-25
- Unnamed storm (1881) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 41.5 km on 1881-08-28
- Matthew (2016) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 35.0 km on 2016-10-08
- Able (1952) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 40.2 km on 1952-08-31
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 3.3 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 9.7 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 58.3 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Tybee Island?
Since 1851, 68 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Tybee Island, GA, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Tybee Island?
Gracie (1959, Category 4 Hurricane, 115 kt) passed within 59.5 km in 1959, reaching Category 4 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Tybee Island?
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.