Waffle House Index
Waffle House: none in storms, as of 9 Nov 2026. Waffle Houses inside storm winds. Waffle House Index and the other weird recession indicators are on one page, each with its latest reading.
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Active storms come from the National Hurricane Center. For each storm, a store counts when it is inside the tropical-storm-force wind radius (34 knots) in the latest forecast advisory. The advisory gives one radius per quadrant: NE, SE, SW, NW.
A storm whose advisory has no 34-knot radius (a depression) counts zero. A storm more than 800 miles from every store counts zero. If a nearby storm's advisory will not load, its row shows -- and the count is marked partial; if no nearby storm could be counted, the gauge shows its last reading or NO DATA.
Store locations: a one-time OpenStreetMap snapshot of Waffle House locations in the contiguous US (brand Q1701206), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
A former FEMA head, Craig Fugate, used whether Waffle Houses stayed open as a quick read on storm damage. People call it the Waffle House Index.
Source: NHC, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. As of 9 Nov 2026.