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Hurricane season and your Fort Lauderdale trip
Photo: Florida by Ralph Hockens, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
Guests ask about hurricanes every year, usually in a quiet voice. Here is the plain version: what the season is, how often a storm actually reaches Fort Lauderdale, and what to do about it when you book. Facts are from the National Hurricane Center, the National Weather Service in Miami and Broward County, checked in September 2026.
The calendar
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. Activity peaks around September 10, and the busiest stretch is mid-August to mid-October. NOAA's numbers put 78 percent of tropical-storm days and 96 percent of major-hurricane days inside that window. June, July and November are far quieter, and the winter months outside the season are the ones most guests book anyway.
How often it actually happens
The National Weather Service office in Miami puts it this way: on average the center of a hurricane passes within 50 miles of any point in South Florida every six to eight years, and hurricane strikes are not a yearly event. Indirect effects, such as a tropical storm or a brush from a system offshore, come around every two or three years. Most summers pass with rain, heat and nothing more. Some do not, so it is worth knowing the system.
Watch versus warning
A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible, issued about 48 hours ahead. A hurricane warning means they are expected, issued about 36 hours ahead. A hurricane has sustained winds of 74 mph or more; a tropical storm is 39 to 73 mph. When a watch is posted for Broward County, that is the moment to talk to your airline and to us.
How the county handles evacuations
Evacuation orders in Broward are issued by the County Administrator, in two tiers. Plan A covers mobile homes, low-lying and tidal areas, and everyone east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Plan B adds everyone east of US-1. The nest sits in Victoria Park, between US-1 and the Intracoastal; check the county's official evacuation map for the current designation rather than relying on a description. Sign up for Alert!Broward text alerts, and the county hotline is 311 (954-831-4000 from outside the county).
The airport and the port
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International closes its terminals as a storm approaches and reopens once it is declared safe; the terminals are not shelters, and the airport asks you not to leave a car in its garages during a storm. Airlines, not the airport, decide on cancellations, so watch your airline's alerts. At Port Everglades the Coast Guard sets storm conditions; at the higher levels vessels must leave and the port closes. Cruise passengers should call their cruise line directly for rebooking; the cruise season and weather guide covers how the season overlaps a sailing.
Travel insurance, and when to buy it
Once a storm has a name it becomes a known event, and a new policy will not cover it. Buy insurance soon after you book. Cancel-for-any-reason coverage, which is the only kind that lets you back out of a trip because a forecast looks bad, generally has to be added within one to three weeks of your first trip payment. Read the policy's weather clause before you pay.
What to do if a storm is forecast for your dates
- Check the National Hurricane Center's forecast cone and the county's alerts rather than social media.
- Contact us early. The cancellation terms for your reservation are in your confirmation and on our policies page; we will talk through what is possible.
- If you are already at the house when a watch is issued, we will send instructions for securing the patio furniture and the pool area, and you should follow any county order.
For most guests the practical takeaway is simpler: pick your month knowing the odds, buy the insurance the same week you book, and enjoy the summer rates and the empty beaches. If summer or fall are on the table, our summer and October posts cover what those months are actually like.