The 2026 hurricane season has been unusually quiet, as hostile El Ni\u00f1o winds are keeping overall storm numbers low.<\/p>
Meanwhile, updated risk data shows that 443 U.S. counties now carry a moderate-to-high hurricane risk score \u2014 featuring 129 new counties after a December 2025 update to FEMA’s National Risk Index.<\/p>
From fallen trees and flying debris to yard flooding, hurricanes take a massive toll on outdoor property. LawnStarter<\/a> ranked 2026’s Most Hurricane-Vulnerable Counties to show where homeowners need storm preparation the most.<\/p> A quiet season doesn’t mean a safe one: AccuWeather’s seasonal forecast flagged the northern and northeastern Gulf and the Carolinas as higher-than-average risk zones this year. Read Ask the Experts<\/a> below for more. <\/p> See where over 400 U.S. counties ranked below. To learn how we ranked them \u2014 and why this list only covers counties FEMA rates as relatively moderate to high risk for hurricanes \u2014 see our methodology<\/a>.<\/p> \u201cThe biggest mistake new homeowners make when moving into high-risk counties is underestimating the hurricane risk,\u201d says Alex DaSilva, Lead Hurricane Expert and Meteorologist with AccuWeather. \u201cMany people who move or retire to the South have never been in a hurricane before. They may not know all of the necessary action items to prepare for in case of a storm. <\/p> \u201cIt is very important that residents, new or old, check their evacuation zones every year, as they can occasionally change as new, more accurate surge modeling becomes available to meteorologists and emergency managers.\u201d<\/p> To rank the counties, we looked at Hurricane Risk and Expected Annual Loss estimates from FEMA. Our analysis also factors in Hurricane History \u2014 the number and severity of hurricanes making landfall over the past 10 years \u2014 and Disaster Cleanup (the number of National Disaster Debris Recovery Facilities) to help contrast the lived experience of recent hurricane seasons with FEMA\u2019s forecasting models. <\/p> See where each county landed in our ranking:<\/p> Contents<\/h2>
County Rankings <\/h2>