Florida Hurricane History

On August 2, 1995, Hurricane Erin hit Florida twice –– once in Vero Beach as a Category 2 hurricane and again in Fort Walton Beach as a Category 1 hurricane. Erin brought as much as 20 inches of rainfall to parts of Florida and killed at least three people. It resulted in roughly $700 million in estimated damages.

On October 4, 1995, Hurricane Opal struck Pensacola Beach in the Florida panhandle as a Category 3 hurricane. Winds and rain battered the coast, causing over $1 billion in estimated damages.

On September 3, 1998, Hurricane Earl affected the Florida Panhandle near Panama City as a Category 2 hurricane. The strong winds, heavy rains, and storm surges caused roughly $70 billion in damages to the impacted area.

On September 25, 1998, Hurricane Georges impacted Florida twice –– first in the Florida Keys as a Category 2 hurricane, then again in the Florida Panhandle as a Tropical Depression. Flood and wind damage from the cyclone resulted in nearly $340 million in damages across Florida.

On October 15, 1999, Hurricane Irene hit Florida as a Category 1 hurricane in Key West and Cape Sable. Flooding from the storm caused extensive damage that led to at least eight deaths and estimated damages of $800 million.

On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley impacted Florida near Punta Gorda as a Category 4 hurricane and then swept across the state. Strong winds, flooding, and tornadoes damaged property all across the state and caused at least 34 deaths and $16 billion in damages.

On September 5, 2004, Hurricane Frances made landfall in Florida twice as a Category 2 hurricane –– first on Hutchinson Island and then near New Port Richey. Frances produced heavy rains, an 8-foot storm surge, and at least 23 tornadoes. It caused 37 deaths and an estimated $9.8 billion in damage.

On September 16, Hurricane Ivan affected the Florida Panhandle, near Pensacola, as a Category 3 hurricane with a huge storm surge of 10-15 feet, powerful winds, and 18 Florida tornadoes. The cyclone killed at least 29 people and resulted in roughly $4 billion in damages.

On September 25, 2004, Hurricane Jeanne impacted the southeastern Florida coast as a Category 3 hurricane and crossed the state bringing heavy rains and strong winds that caused six deaths and $7.5 billion in damage.

On July 5, 2005, Hurricane Dennis struck the Florida Panhandle near Navarre Beach as Category 3 hurricane with heavy wind and rain and a large storm surge. The storm produced nine tornadoes and caused 14 deaths and $1.5 billion in damage.

On August 25, 2005, Hurricane Katrina skirted southern Florida as a weak hurricane before intensifying in the Gulf of Mexico and wreaking destruction in Louisiana and along the Florida Gulf Coast. While Katrina is known for causing total devastation in New Orleans, it also managed to kill 14 people in Florida, where it inflicted estimated damages of $623 million.

On October 24, Hurricane Wilma landed in southern Florida near Miami as a Category 3 hurricane. Strong winds, storm surges, 10 tornadoes, and heavy rainfall caused 30 deaths and $19 billion in damages across Florida.

On September 1, 2016, Hurricane Hermine became the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Wilma. The Category 1 hurricane caused one death and $80 million in damage.

On October 7, 2016, Hurricane Matthew tracked parallel to the east coast of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane where it caused 14 deaths and $1.3 billion in damages.

On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma became the first major hurricane to make landfall in Florida. This massive Category 4 hurricane killed at least 87 people in Florida and caused roughly $50 billion in damages.

On October 10, Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 hurricane –– the first since Hurricane Andrew of 1992. The cyclone directly killed at least 50 people and caused $18.4 billion in damage.

From September 10 through September 15, 2020, Hurricane Sally slowly progressed north along Florida’s Gulf Coast before impacting Alabama and affecting the Florida Panhandle, where it contributed to three deaths and caused $309 million in damages.