Landfall is the moment when a hurricane or tropical storm reaches the coast and moves from water onto land. When meteorologists say a hurricane is making landfall, they mean its center, called the eye, is crossing the shoreline. This is usually when the storm is most dangerous to coastal communities, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain, and flooding.

The word captures something important: for people living inland, a hurricane might just mean some rain and wind, but for those at the point of landfall, it's the full force of the storm. News reports track hurricanes carefully as they approach land, announcing exactly where and when landfall will occur so people can evacuate or prepare.

The term also applies more generally to any arrival at land after traveling by sea. When early explorers like Columbus or Magellan sighted land after weeks at sea, that moment of landfall meant safety, fresh water, and relief for tired sailors. Today, you might hear someone say they made landfall after a long ocean voyage, meaning they finally reached shore. The word always suggests that crucial transition from the uncertainty of open water to the solid ground of land.