Hawaii has been hit by hurricanes before, and one of its main islands has arguably taken the hardest hits since it became the 50th state.

How often do they happen?

According to NOAA's historical database, only eight hurricanes have tracked within 70 miles of the Big Island, Maui, Oahu or Kauai since 1959.

The last to do so was in late August 2026, when Hurricane Lala brought destructive floods and winds to the Big Island and a few other locations in the chain.

(MORE: Hurricane season tracker | Hurricane Lowell's forecast)

On average, four to five tropical storms or hurricanes occur in the Central Pacific Ocean basin — defined as longitude between 140-180 degrees west — each year.

One island hit hardest

While several of these hurricanes have brought flooding rain and winds to the Big Island, the map above shows three of those tracks struck the westernmost main island of Kauai.

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And they happen to be three of the costliest hurricanes on record in Hawaii.

• Dot (1959) struck just days before Hawaii statehood. Gusts up to 100 mph ripped roofs off homes, triggered flooding and mudslides, and heavily damaged pineapple and sugar cane fields.
• Iwa (1982) tracked just west of Kauai, producing damaging storm surge on the southern shores of Kaui and Oahu and knocking out power to most of those islands. At the time it was Hawaii's costliest storm, leaving an estimated $950 million damage (in 2026 dollars).
• Iniki (1992) actually made landfall in Kauai at Category 4 intensity on Sept. 11, by far the most powerful hurricane to hit the islands in the modern era. An up to 18-foot storm surge swamped Kauai's south shore. Over 1,400 homes were destroyed and another 14,000 severely damaged. Kauai was left without power and phone lines for weeks, even months. Iniki remains the costliest ($7.3 billion damage) and deadliest (7 killed) Hawaii hurricane since 1900, according to Climate Central.

How they get hit

In the vast Pacific Ocean, Hawaii's total land area is only about 6,400 square miles, the fourth-smallest U.S. state by land area, larger than only Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. 

Usually, there's a combination of dry, stable air, wind shear and cooler water near the islands that weaken most hurricanes or tropical storms moving westward from the Eastern Pacific.

There are two ways the odds of a hurricane strike increase.

From the south

Ocean temperatures are typically warmer the farther south you get in the northern Pacific. That means a tropical storm or hurricane moving toward Hawaii from the south would have a better chance of surviving to the islands.

El Niño

El Niño allows warmer water to push farther north into the more typical east-to-west trek of tropical systems from the eastern Pacific. The warmer water also allows for more tropical system formation closer to Hawaii and across the eastern Pacific.

The east to northeasterly trade winds that sometimes trap tropical cyclones well south of the islands also relax during an El Niño, making these lingering storms south of the islands more susceptible to be drawn northward.

(MORE: The latest stories on El Niño)

Increasing odds?

A warmer planet could also influence Hawaii's hurricane threat in the future.

"Storm tracks, hurricane tracks, may shift more northerly toward our region of the Central Pacific in the coming decades with the warming climate," coastal geologist with the University of Hawaii Brad Romine told Hawaii News Now.

In addition, Romine said climate change could also increase the frequency of stronger El Niños that are supportive of a greater hurricane risk in Hawaii.

Jonathan Belles has been a digital meteorologist for weather.com for 10 years. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.