This Hurricane Surged Almost 500 Miles Inland

Hurricane season is upon us, a season that runs from June 1 to November 30, putting coastal and surrounding areas on heightened alert. These storms are highly unpredictable and knowing their exact path isn't always possible. These tropical cyclones can travel thousands of miles and have endured for days, even weeks, at a time.

According to the National Weather Service, a hurricane's speed and path depend on complex ocean and atmospheric interactions, including the presence or absence of other weather patterns. This contributes to the difficulty in predicting its speed and direction. These natural disasters are known to travel 150 miles inland but when the winds and speed are intense enough, like a Category 3 and above has shown, their reach extends even further in. The most recent event, Hurricane Beryl, gave insight into how persistent a storm can be, making landfall in Texas and continuing to Canada.

To determine the hurricanes that made it the farthest inland, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Tropical cyclones, storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 mph or higher, and hurricanes, storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 74 mph or higher, were ranked based on the distance between their farthest inland points and the coast.

Inland distances were measured using distance to nearest hub calculations in QGIS, historical hurricane track shapefiles from the NOAA, and coastline shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only hurricanes with official names were included.As this list makes clear, if you live east of the Mississippi River, no matter how far from the coast, there's still a possibility that you might one day be staring down the eye of a hurricane. (Don't miss the most catastrophic storms in American history).

Methodology:

To determine the hurricanes that made it the farthest inland, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on historical hurricane tracks from 1842 to 2022 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Tropical cyclones, storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 39 mph or higher, and hurricanes, storms that reach a maximum sustained wind speed of 74 mph or higher, were ranked based on the distance between their farthest inland points and the coast.

Inland distances were measured using distance to nearest hub calculations in QGIS, historical hurricane track shapefiles from the NOAA, and coastline shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau. Only hurricanes with official names were included.

Here is the list of the hurricanes that made it farthest inland.

50. Hurricane Love (October 1950)

Farthest distance inland reached: 71.8 miles
Farthest inland point: Hamilton County, FL

49. Hurricane Bertha (July 1996)

Farthest distance inland reached: 72.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Hertford County, NC

48. Hurricane Gordon (November 1994)

Farthest distance inland reached: 76.0 miles
Farthest inland point: Highlands County, FL

47. Hurricane Alma (June 1966)

Farthest distance inland reached: 82.4 miles
Farthest inland point: Atkinson County, GA

46. Hurricane Hilda (October 1964)

Farthest distance inland reached: 86.3 miles
Farthest inland point: Lanier County, GA

45. Hurricane Hermine (September 2016)

Farthest distance inland reached: 89.2 miles
Farthest inland point: Berrien County, GA

44. Hurricane Hazel (October 1954)

Farthest distance inland reached: 99.5 miles
Farthest inland point: Potter County, PA

43. Hurricane Andrea (June 2013)

Farthest distance inland reached: 103.9 miles
Farthest inland point: Wilson County, NC

42. Hurricane Cindy (July 1959)

Farthest distance inland reached: 106.4 miles
Farthest inland point: Halifax County, NC

41. Hurricane Donna (September 1960)

Farthest distance inland reached: 106.7 miles
Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

40. Hurricane Kate (November 1985)

Farthest distance inland reached: 107.4 miles
Farthest inland point: Ben Hill County, GA

39. Hurricane Florence (September 1953)

Farthest distance inland reached: 111.9 miles
Farthest inland point: Tift County, GA

38. Hurricane Valerie (June 1962)

Farthest distance inland reached: 113.3 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

37. Hurricane Katrina (August 1971)

Farthest distance inland reached: 113.3 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

36. Hurricane Sonia (November 2013)

Farthest distance inland reached: 114.1 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

35. Hurricane Elsa (July 2021)

Farthest distance inland reached: 114.5 miles
Farthest inland point: Wake County, NC

34. Hurricane Waldo (October 1985)

Farthest distance inland reached: 114.5 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

33. Hurricane Norman (September 2012)

Farthest distance inland reached: 114.9 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

32. Hurricane Enrique (June 2021)

Farthest distance inland reached: 115.4 miles
Farthest inland point: Starr County, TX

31. Hurricane Earl (September 1998)

Farthest distance inland reached: 118.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Tift County, GA

30. Hurricane Hanna (September 2008)

Farthest distance inland reached: 119.7 miles
Farthest inland point: Halifax County, NC

29. Hurricane Isabel (September 2003)

Farthest distance inland reached: 119.9 miles
Farthest inland point: Allegheny County, PA

28. Hurricane Allison (June 1995)

Farthest distance inland reached: 120.8 miles
Farthest inland point: Coffee County, GA

27. Hurricane Nestor (October 2019)

Farthest distance inland reached: 121.8 miles
Farthest inland point: Turner County, GA

26. Hurricane Paine (October 1986)

Farthest distance inland reached: 123.1 miles
Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

25. Hurricane Alma (May 1970)

Farthest distance inland reached: 123.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Franklin County, NC

24. Hurricane Flossy (September 1956)

Farthest distance inland reached: 127.5 miles
Farthest inland point: Turner County, GA

23. Hurricane Fausto (September 1996)

Farthest distance inland reached: 129.9 miles
Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

22. Hurricane Doreen (October 1962)

Farthest distance inland reached: 130.2 miles
Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

21. Hurricane Rosa (October 1994)

Farthest distance inland reached: 130.5 miles
Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

20. Hurricane Norbert (October 2008)

Farthest distance inland reached: 130.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Zapata County, TX

19. Hurricane Dora (September 1964)

Farthest distance inland reached: 131.0 miles
Farthest inland point: Ben Hill County, GA

18. Hurricane Connie (August 1955)

Farthest distance inland reached: 136.2 miles
Farthest inland point: Centre County, PA

17. Hurricane Diane (August 1955)

Farthest distance inland reached: 144.7 miles
Farthest inland point: Halifax County, VA

16. Hurricane Sandy (October 2012)

Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Cambria County, PA

15. Hurricane Isaias (August 2020)

Farthest distance inland reached: 146.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Lamoille County, VT

14. Hurricane Carol (September 1954)

Farthest distance inland reached: 168.1 miles
Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

13. Hurricane Michael (October 2018)

Farthest distance inland reached: 179.7 miles
Farthest inland point: Houston County, GA

12. Hurricane Bob (July 1985)

Farthest distance inland reached: 187.4 miles
Farthest inland point: Forsyth County, NC

11. Hurricane Irene (August 2011)

Farthest distance inland reached: 187.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

10. Hurricane Doria (August 1971)

Farthest distance inland reached: 190.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Aroostook County, ME

9. Hurricane Able (August 1952)

Farthest distance inland reached: 193.2 miles
Farthest inland point: Stokes County, NC

8. Hurricane David (September 1979)

Farthest distance inland reached: 206.3 miles
Farthest inland point: Rockingham County, NC

7. Hurricane Hugo (September 1989)

Farthest distance inland reached: 279.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Johnson County, TN

6. Hurricane Zeta (October 2020)

Farthest distance inland reached: 285.3 miles
Farthest inland point: Murray County, GA

5. Hurricane Olga (October 2019)

Farthest distance inland reached: 321.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Fayette County, TN

4. Hurricane Audrey (June 1957)

Farthest distance inland reached: 384.8 miles
Farthest inland point: Williamson County, TN

3. Hurricane Frederic (September 1979)

Farthest distance inland reached: 386.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Overton County, TN

2. Hurricane Ike (September 2008)

Farthest distance inland reached: 432.2 miles
Farthest inland point: Newton County, AR

1. Hurricane Carla (September 1961)

Farthest distance inland reached: 486.6 miles
Farthest inland point: Taney County, MO