Hurricanes that hit Escambia County, Florida: hurricane history

69 storms have passed within 50 km of Escambia County from 1852 to 2026, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Escambia County

The record holds 69 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Escambia County, Florida between 1852 and 2026. The busiest month is September, with 22 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 6 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 69storms within 50 km
  • 8major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 24at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Escambia County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression710%
Tropical storm3246%
Category 11217%
Category 246%
Category 3812%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity69%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Escambia County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 2000s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2026, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s5
1870s3
1880s7
1890s4
1900s3
1910s5
1920s3
1930s6
1940s2
1950s3
1960s4
1970s1
1980s3
1990s5
2000s10
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 22 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun6Jul10Aug14Sep22Oct14Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun6
Jul10
Aug14
Sep22
Oct14
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Escambia County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1882 (North Atlantic)1 September 1882 to 13 September 1882, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 949 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1926 (North Atlantic)11 September 1926 to 22 September 1926, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa
  • Dennis (2005)4 July 2005 to 18 July 2005, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa

Most recent storms near Escambia County

  • Isaias (2026)4 October 2026 to 11 October 2026, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 959 hPa, provisional
  • Sally (2020)11 September 2020 to 18 September 2020, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 967 hPa
  • Ida (2009)4 November 2009 to 11 November 2009, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 975 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Escambia County

  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa
  • Dennis (2005)4 July 2005 to 18 July 2005, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Hilda (1964)28 September 1964 to 7 October 1964, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Isaias (2026)4 October 2026 to 11 October 2026, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 959 hPa, provisional

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