When a hurricane “makes landfall,” it means the center of the storm’s eye crosses the coastline and moves over land, not just that rain or outer bands reach the shore. That moment usually brings the strongest winds and storm surge to land and also marks the point when the storm typically starts to weaken because it loses its supply of warm ocean water.

What “landfall” actually means

  • Landfall is officially when the eye (the calm center) of the hurricane passes from ocean to land along the coast.
  • Outer rain bands can hit hours earlier, but it is not considered landfall until the surface center of circulation crosses the shoreline.
  • A hurricane can affect land severely (strong winds, flooding) even before or without the exact center making landfall if its wind field is large.

What happens at landfall

  • This is usually when maximum winds, storm surge, and coastal flooding hit the shore, often causing the worst immediate damage in a short time window.
  • Storm surge, pushed by strong onshore winds, can rapidly raise water levels and inundate coastal communities, especially if landfall coincides with high tide.
  • Torrential rain and high winds can extend far inland, leading to river flooding, downed power lines, and widespread power outages.

Why hurricanes weaken after landfall

  • Hurricanes are powered by warm, moist air over the ocean; once over land, that “fuel source” is cut off, so surface pressure rises and peak winds drop.
  • Friction from land (trees, buildings, terrain) disrupts the storm’s circulation, further weakening its structure.
  • Even while weakening as a hurricane, the system can still produce dangerous inland flooding and strong winds for many hours or days.

In simple terms

  • Before landfall: storm is over water, often intensifying, with outer bands already impacting the coast.
  • At landfall: the eye crosses the coast; this is usually the peak of destructive power at the shoreline.
  • After landfall: the storm gradually weakens, but flooding rain, tornadoes, and damaging winds can continue far inland.

TL;DR: When a hurricane makes landfall, the eye moves over land, bringing peak winds and storm surge to the coast, and starting the storm’s gradual weakening as it loses the warm ocean energy that was powering it.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.