List of Florida hurricanes
Approximately 500 tropical and subtropical cyclones have affected the state of Florida. More storms hit Florida than any other U.S. state,[1] and since 1851 only eighteen hurricane seasons passed without a known storm impacting the state. Collectively, cyclones that hit the region have resulted in over 10,000 deaths, most of which occurred prior to the start of hurricane hunter flights in 1943. Additionally, the cumulative impact from the storms has totalled over US$300 billion in damage (2018 dollars), primarily from Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Ian in the 1992, 2017, and 2022 seasons respectively. The most recent hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Hurricane Milton in 2024.
Climatology
[edit]Tropical cyclones have affected Florida in every month of the year with the exceptions of January and March. Nearly one-third of the cyclones affected the state in September, and nearly three-fourths of the storms affected the state between August and October, which coincides with the peak of the hurricane season. Portions of the coastline have return periods, or expected time between hurricane strikes of a certain intensity or category within 86 miles (138 km) of a given location, that are the lowest in the country. Monroe County was struck by 26 hurricanes since 1926, which is the greatest total for any county in the United States.[2]
In a Monthly Weather Review paper published in 1934, the U.S. Weather Bureau recognized Key West and Pensacola as the most hurricane-prone cities in the state; Key West experiences both storms developing from the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, while Pensacola has received hurricanes crossing the state as well as storms recurving in the northern Gulf of Mexico.[3] Officially, the earliest hurricane to affect the state was Hurricane Alma on June 9; the latest, Hurricane Kate on November 21. However, preliminary reanalysis suggests that a hurricane may have struck the state on May 28, 1863.[4]
The strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall on the state was the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, which crossed the Florida Keys with a pressure of 892 millibars (26.3 inHg); it is also the strongest hurricane on record to strike the United States. Out of the ten most intense landfalling United States hurricanes, four struck Florida at peak strength.[5]
Pre-1900
[edit]The first recorded tropical cyclone to affect the area that is now the state of Florida occurred in 1523, when two ships and their crews were lost along the western coastline.[6] A total 159 hurricanes are known to have affected the state prior to 1900, which collectively resulted in at least 6,504 fatalities and monetary damage of over $102 million (2017 dollars). Additionally, at least 109 boats or ships were either driven ashore, wrecked, or damaged due to the storms. A strong hurricane struck northwest Florida on May 28, 1863, and is the earliest landfall during the year known in the US, pending reanalysis.[4]
Information is sparse for earlier years due to limitations in tropical cyclone observation, though as coastlines became more populated, more data became available. The National Hurricane Center recognizes the uncertainty in both the death tolls and the dates of the events.[7]
1900–1949
[edit]In the period between 1900 and 1949, 108 tropical cyclones affected the state, which collectively resulted in about $4.5 billion (2017 dollars) in damage. Additionally, tropical cyclones in Florida were directly responsible for about 3,500 fatalities during the period, most of which were from the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, the state's deadliest. The 1947 season was the year with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state, with a total of six systems. The 1905, 1908, 1913, 1927, 1931, 1942, and 1943 seasons were the only years during the period in which a storm did not affect the state.
The strongest and most intense hurricane to hit the state during the period was the 1935 Labor Day hurricane—the most potent on record to strike the United States. Collectively this storm, the 1926 Miami hurricane, and the 1928 hurricane claimed over 3,280 lives in Florida—three of the state's 10 most impactful weather events in the 20th century; the 1926 storm would be the costliest of any U.S. hurricane in present monetary values. Hurricane-wise the 1940s were among the state's busiest decades: 11 hurricanes struck from 1944–50, six of them major, including five Category 4 hurricanes in South Florida. Storms catalyzed development: impacts radiated societally, broaching complex political and socioeconomic topics, and lead to epochal changes such as flood control and building codes.[8][9]
1950–1974
[edit]In the period between 1950 and 1974, 85 tropical or subtropical cyclones impacted the state, which collectively resulted in about $7 billion (2017 dollars) in damage, primarily from Hurricanes Donna and Dora. Additionally, the storms were directly responsible for 93 fatalities and indirectly for 23 more deaths. Several tropical cyclones produced over 20 inches (500 mm) of rainfall in the state, including Hurricane Easy, which is the highest total during the period. The 1969 season was the year with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state, with a total of eight systems. The 1954 and 1967 seasons were the only years during the period in which a storm did not affect the state.
The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the period was Hurricane Donna, which was the tenth strongest hurricane on record to strike the contiguous United States.[10][5] Additionally, Hurricanes Easy, King, Betsy, and Alma hit or otherwise impacted the state as major hurricanes.
1975–1999
[edit]In the period between 1975 and 1999, 83 tropical or subtropical cyclones affected the state, which collectively resulted in $51.1 billion (2017 dollars) in damage, primarily from Hurricane Andrew, and 54 direct casualties. The 1985 season was the year with the most tropical cyclones affecting the state, with a total of eight systems. Every year included at least one tropical cyclone affecting the state. The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the period was Hurricane Andrew, which was one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to strike the United States. Andrew, at the time, was the costliest tropical cyclone in United States history and remains the seventh-costliest. Additionally, Hurricanes Eloise, Elena, and Opal hit or otherwise impacted the state as major hurricanes.
2000–present
[edit]The period from 2000 to the present has been marked by several devastating North Atlantic hurricanes; as of 2023[update], 79 tropical or subtropical cyclones have affected the U.S. state of Florida. Collectively, cyclones in Florida over that period resulted in over $236 billion in damage, most of it from Hurricane Ian.[11] Additionally, tropical cyclones in Florida were responsible for 145 direct fatalities and at least 92 indirect ones during the period. Eight cyclones affected the state in both 2004 and 2005, which were the years with the most tropical cyclones impacting the state. Every year included at least one tropical cyclone affecting the state.
The strongest hurricane to hit the state during the period was Michael, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 5 hurricane–the strongest since Andrew in 1992. Additionally, nine other hurricanes made landfall on or otherwise impacted the state as major hurricanes.
Florida major hurricanes
[edit]The following major hurricanes either made landfall on the state as a major hurricane or brought winds of Category 3 status to the state. For storms that made landfall twice or more, the maximum sustained wind speed, and hence the highest Saffir–Simpson category, at the strongest landfall is listed. Only landfalls at major hurricane intensity are listed. Storms are listed since 1851, which is the official start of the Atlantic hurricane database.[5][9] Originally, hurricanes were classified by central pressure in the 20th century;[9][12] however, modern practices quantify storm intensities by maximum sustained winds.[13] United States hurricanes are still classified by central pressure from 1971 to 1979;[9][14] therefore, the maximum sustained winds in the Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT) are utilized for storms from 1971 to 1979,[5] since this period has not been reanalyzed by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project.[15]
Storm | Saffir–Simpson Category† |
Date of Landfall (UTC) |
Year | Landfall Intensity (in Knots) |
Landfall Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Great Middle Florida | 3 | August 23 | 1851 | 100 | Panama City |
Unnamed | 3 | August 17 | 1871 | 100 | Jupiter Island |
Unnamed | 3 | October 7 | 1873 | 100 | Captiva Island |
Unnamed | 3 | October 3 | 1877 | 100 | Panama City |
Unnamed | 3 | September 10 | 1882 | 110 | Navarre |
Unnamed | 3 | August 16 | 1888 | 110 | Miami Beach |
Unnamed | 3 | October 9 | 1894 | 105 | Panama City |
Unnamed | 3 | September 29 | 1896 | 110 | Cedar Key |
Unnamed | 3 | October 18 | 1906 | 105 | Marathon |
Unnamed | 3 | October 11 | 1909 | 100 | Marathon |
Unnamed | 3 | September 29 | 1917 | 100 | Fort Walton Beach |
Florida Keys | 4 | September 10 | 1919 | 130 | Dry Tortugas |
Tampa Bay | 3 | October 25 | 1921 | 100 | Tarpon Springs |
Great Miami | 4 | September 18–20 | 1926 | 125 | Perrine |
Okeechobee | 4 | September 17 | 1928 | 125 | Palm Beach |
Unnamed | 3 | September 4 | 1933 | 110 | Jupiter |
Labor Day | 5 | September 3 | 1935 | 160 | Craig Key |
Unnamed | 3 | October 18 | 1944 | 105 | Dry Tortugas |
Unnamed | 4 | September 15 | 1945 | 115 | North Key Largo |
Unnamed | 4 | September 17 | 1947 | 115 | Fort Lauderdale |
Unnamed | 4 | September 21–22 | 1948 | 115 | East of Chokoloskee |
Unnamed | 4 | August 26 | 1949 | 115 | Lake Worth |
Easy | 3 | September 5 | 1950 | 105 | East of Cedar Key |
King | 4 | October 18 | 1950 | 115 | Miami |
Donna | 4 | September 10 | 1960 | 125 | Conch Key |
Betsy | 3 | September 8 | 1965 | 100 | Tavernier |
Alma | 3 | June 8 | 1966 | 100 | Dry Tortugas* |
Eloise | 3 | September 23 | 1975 | 110 | East of Destin |
Elena | 3 | September 2 | 1985 | 100 | Gulfport, Mississippi* |
Andrew | 5 | August 24 | 1992 | 145 | North of Homestead |
Opal | 3 | October 4 | 1995 | 100 | Pensacola Beach |
Charley | 4 | August 13 | 2004 | 130 | Cayo Costa |
Ivan | 3 | September 16 | 2004 | 105 | West of Gulf Shores, Alabama* |
Jeanne | 3 | September 26 | 2004 | 105 | Hutchinson Island |
Dennis | 3 | July 10 | 2005 | 105 | Santa Rosa Island |
Wilma | 3 | October 24 | 2005 | 105 | Cape Romano |
Irma | 4 | September 10 | 2017 | 115 | Cudjoe Key |
Michael | 5 | October 10 | 2018 | 140 | West of Mexico Beach |
Ian | 4 | September 28 | 2022 | 130 | Cayo Costa |
Idalia | 3 | August 30 | 2023 | 100 | Keaton Beach |
Helene | 4 | September 27 | 2024 | 120 | Perry |
Milton | 3 | October 9 | 2024 | 105 | Siesta Key |
References: HURDAT, HRD[5][9] | |||||
† Highest Saffir–Simpson scale category experienced on land in the state. | |||||
* Storm brought winds of major hurricane intensity to part of the state, while not making landfall. |
Strongest and most intense
[edit]Strongest landfalling tropical cyclones in the U.S. state of Florida† as of 2024 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Hurricane | Season | Wind speed | ||
mph | km/h | ||||
1 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 185 | 295 | |
2 | Andrew | 1992 | 165 | 270 | |
3 | Michael | 2018 | 160 | 260 | |
4 | "Florida Keys" | 1919 | 150 | 240 | |
Charley | 2004 | ||||
Ian | 2022 | ||||
7 | "Great Miami" | 1926 | 145 | 230 | |
"Okeechobee" | 1928 | ||||
Donna | 1960 | ||||
10 | Helene | 2024 | 140 | 220 | |
Source: HURDAT,[5] Hurricane Research Division,[9] NHC[16] | |||||
†Strength refers to maximum sustained wind speed upon striking land. |
Most intense landfalling tropical cyclones in the U.S. state of Florida† as of 2024 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | System | Season | Barometric pressure | ||
1 | "Labor Day" | 1935 | 892 mbar (hPa) | ||
2 | Michael | 2018 | 919 mbar (hPa) | ||
3 | Andrew | 1992 | 922 mbar (hPa) | ||
4 | "Florida Keys" | 1919 | 927 mbar (hPa) | ||
5 | "Okeechobee" | 1928 | 929 mbar (hPa) | ||
6 | "Great Miami" | 1926 | 930 mbar (hPa) | ||
Donna | 1960 | ||||
8 | Irma | 2017 | 931 mbar (hPa) | ||
9 | Helene | 2024 | 938 mbar (hPa) | ||
10 | "Florida" | 1948 | 940 mbar (hPa) | ||
Source: HURDAT,[5] Hurricane Research Division[9] | |||||
†Intensity refers to central barometric pressure upon striking land. |
Monthly statistics
[edit]Month | Number of major hurricanes |
---|---|
June | |
July | |
August | |
September | |
October |
Deadliest storms
[edit]Name | Year | Number of deaths
|
---|---|---|
"Okeechobee" | 1928 | 2,500+ |
Unnamed | 1781 | 2,000 |
Unnamed | 1622 | 1,090 |
Unnamed | 1553 | 700 |
Unnamed | 1553 | <700 |
Unnamed | 1559 | 500 |
Unnamed | 1559 | ~500 |
Unnamed | 1683 | 496 |
"Labor Day" | 1935 | 409 |
"Great Miami" | 1926 | 372 |
Unnamed | 1563 | 284 |
"Florida Keys" | 1906 | 240 |
Ian | 2022 | 150 |
See also
[edit]- Atlantic hurricane
- Climate of Florida
- Atlantic hurricane season
- List of Atlantic hurricanes
- List of wettest known tropical cyclones in Florida
- Tropical cyclone
References
[edit]- ^ "After Great Hurricane of 1896". World Digital Library. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ^ National Hurricane Center (2006). "Tropical Cyclone Climatology". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ Gray 1933.
- ^ a b Chenoweth & Mock 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT version 2)" (Database). United States National Hurricane Center. April 5, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Appendix 2: Cyclones that may have 25+ deaths". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Notes to the Appendices". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Barnes 1998, pp. 3, 18, 140
- Blake, Rappaport & Landsea 2007, pp. 7, 9
- Gray 1936, p. 3
- Johnson 1974, pp. 150, 156
- Landsea, Strahan-Sakoskie & Hagen 2012, p. 4451
- Pfost 2003
- —; Santos, Pablo; Garcia, Robert (3 February 2024). "History of National Weather Service Forecast Office Miami, Florida". NWS WFO/NHC Miami, FL History Page. Miami: National Weather Service Miami - South Florida Weather Forecast Office. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
The reaction to the Labor Day disaster was loud and contentious. Congress appropriated even more money ($128,000) in late 1935 to improve observations and reports for tropical cyclones.
- —; Santos, Pablo; Garcia, Robert (3 February 2024). "History of National Weather Service Forecast Office Miami, Florida". NWS WFO/NHC Miami, FL History Page. Miami: National Weather Service Miami - South Florida Weather Forecast Office. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- "Summary of Hurricane Irene in Southeast Florida". 1999 Irene. Miami: National Weather Service Miami - South Florida Weather Forecast Office. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
the wet hurricanes in the 1930s and 1940s.
- "Florida's Top 10 Weather Events of the 20th Century". National Weather Service Forecast Office Tallahassee, FL. Tallahassee, Florida: National Weather Service. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Will 1961, p. 109
- Williams & Duedall 2002, p. 20
- Winsberg 1990, p. 125
- ^ a b c d e f g h Landsea, Chris; Anderson, Craig; Bredemeyer, William; et al. (January 2022). Continental United States Hurricanes (Detailed Description). Re-Analysis Project (Report). Miami, Florida: Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Research Division. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Blake, Rappaport & Landsea 2007, p. 10.
- ^ Weather Underground. "Hurricane and Tropical Cyclones" (web). Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-05-27.
- ^ Jarrell, Herbert & Mayfield 1992, pp. 2, 4.
- ^ Landsea et al. 2007, p. 2139.
- ^ Jarrell, Herbert & Mayfield 1992, p. 4.
- ^ Atlantic Hurricane Research Division. "Re-Analysis Project". Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ John L. Beven II; Robbie Berg; Andrew Hagen (April 19, 2019). Hurricane Michael (PDF) (Report). National Hurricane Center. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ^ Multiple sources:
- Blake, Rappaport & Landsea 2007, p. 7
- Pfost 2003
- Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Appendix 1. Cyclones with 25+ Deaths". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Appendix 2: Cyclones that may have 25+ deaths". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Notes to the Appendices". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Rappaport, Edward N.; Fernández-Partagás, José (22 April 1997) [28 May 1995]. "Appendix 2: Cyclones that may have 25+ deaths". The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones, 1492–1996 (Technical report). National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center. NWS NHC 47. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Barnes, Jay (1998). Florida's Hurricane History (1st ed.). Chapel Hill, North Carolina: UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-2443-7 – via Internet Archive.
- Blake, Eric; Rappaport, Edward N. & Landsea, Christopher (15 April 2007) [2006]. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones (1851 to 2006) (PDF) (Technical report). NOAA Technical Memorandum. Miami: National Hurricane Center. NWS TPC-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- Chenoweth, Michael; Mock, Cary J. (2013). "Hurricane "Amanda": Rediscovery of a Forgotten U.S. Civil War Florida Hurricane". Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. 94 (11): 1735–42. Bibcode:2013BAMS...94.1735C. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00171.1. S2CID 123011306.
- Gray, Richard (January 1933). Written at Miami. "Florida hurricanes" (PDF). Monthly Weather Review. 61 (1). Washington, D.C.: United States Weather Bureau: 11–13. Bibcode:1933MWRv...61...11G. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1933)61<11:FH>2.0.CO;2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2024 – via American Meteorological Society.
- — (1936). Norton, Grady (ed.). Florida hurricanes (Report). United States Department of Agriculture. 68891—36. Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- Jarrell, Jerry P.; Herbert, Paul J.; Mayfield, Max (August 1992). Hurricane experience levels of coastal county populations, Texas to Maine (Technical report). NOAA Technical Memorandum. Coral Gables, Florida: National Weather Service. NWS NHC-46. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
- Johnson, Lamar (1974). Beyond the Fourth Generation. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0813003986 – via Internet Archive.
- Kleinberg, Eliot (2003). Black Cloud: The Deadly Hurricane of 1928. Carroll and Graf Publishing. ISBN 0-7867-1386-0 – via Internet Archive.
- Landsea, Christopher W.; Glenn, David A.; Bredemeyer, William; et al. (2007). "A Reanalysis of the 1911–20 Atlantic Hurricane Database" (PDF). Journal of Climate. 21 (10). American Meteorological Society: 2138–2168. Bibcode:2008JCli...21.2138L. doi:10.1175/2007JCLI1119.1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-05-14. Retrieved 2008-11-22 – via Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
- —; Strahan-Sakoskie, Donna; Hagen, Andrew (July 2012). "A Reanalysis of the 1944–53 Atlantic Hurricane Seasons—The First Decade of Aircraft Reconnaissance" (PDF). Journal of Climate. 25 (13). Boston: American Meteorological Society: 4441–4460. Bibcode:2012JCli...25.4441H. doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00419.1 – via Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.
- Ling, Sally J. (2005). Small Town, Big Secrets: Inside the Boca Raton Army Air Field During World War II. History Press. ISBN 1-59629-006-4.
- Pfost, Russell L. (2003). "Reassessing the Impact of Two Historical Florida Hurricanes". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Boston: American Meteorological Society: 1367–1372. Bibcode:2003BAMS...84.1367P. doi:10.1175/BAMS-84-10-1367.
- Williams, John M.; Duedall, Iver W. (2002) [1997]. Florida Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, 1871–2001 (2nd ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-2494-3 – via Internet Archive.
- Winsberg, Morton D. (1990). Florida Weather (1st ed.). Orlando, Florida: University of Central Florida Press. ISBN 0-8130-0989-8 – via Internet Archive.
- Will, Lawrence E. (1961). Okeechobee Hurricane and the Hoover Dike (1st ed.). St. Petersburg, Florida: Great Outdoors Publishing. OCLC 1309988 – via Internet Archive.