Extreme events in the Virginia Coastal areas

This map shows all category 1 to 5 hurricanes whose centers have passed within 10 nautical miles of the state's boundary during the period 1851 to 2005. Legend Category 3-5 storm track Category 1-2 storm track Tropical storm track Tropical depression track Subtropical storm track Subtropical depression track Extratropical storm track Tropical low track Tropical wave track Tropical disturbance track

Virginia Hurricane History

About one hundred tropical disturbances roam the open Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico each year. Of these disturbances, fifteen become tropical depressions, areas of low pressure with closed wind circulations. Ten of these further develop into tropical storms, and six become hurricanes. Every five years, one of these hurricanes will reach category five status, usually in the southwest Atlantic or western Caribbean. About every fifty years, one of these extremely dangerous category five hurricanes will strike the United States.

Luckily, Virginia is far enough to the north so that category five hurricanes cannot threaten the coast. The Outer Banks of North Carolina, and cool sea surface temperatures along the coast, make a direct strike by any hurricane an unusual occurrence, as these factors weaken storms that might otherwise directly strike Virginia as significant hurricanes. Only one major hurricane is known to have impacted Virginia since 1900 due to the very orientation of the Virginia coast, which faces east. Storms usually move northward as they cross the latitude of the Mid-Atlantic. (D. Roth & H. Cobb, 2000)

The figure shows the return period of of hurricanes for category 3. For Virginia coast the return period is around 100 years.