Hurricanes that hit Leon County, Florida: hurricane history

58 storms have passed within 50 km of Leon County from 1851 to 2024, coloured by intensity on the map.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

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 Leon County

The record holds 58 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Leon County, Florida between 1851 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 20 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 58storms within 50 km
  • 4major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 16at 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 Leon County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression59%
Tropical storm3560%
Category 1610%
Category 2610%
Category 323%
Category 423%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity23%

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

Leon County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 6 in 1870s.1850s1870s1890s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s2
1860s3
1870s6
1880s4
1890s3
1900s5
1920s5
1930s5
1940s2
1950s1
1960s2
1970s5
1980s3
1990s3
2000s4
2010s2
2020s3

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 20 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun11Jul1Aug12Sep20Oct10Nov2Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun11
Jul1
Aug12
Sep20
Oct10
Nov2
Dec0

Strongest storms near Leon County

  • Michael (2018)6 October 2018 to 15 October 2018, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 920 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1894 (North Atlantic)26 September 1894 to 12 October 1894, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of August 1851 (North Atlantic)16 August 1851 to 28 August 1851, peak Category 3 (100 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of October 1852 (North Atlantic)3 October 1852 to 12 October 1852, peak Category 2 (90 kt)

Most recent storms near Leon County

  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Nicole (2022)6 November 2022 to 11 November 2022, Tropical storm (40 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 980 hPa
  • Mindy (2021)8 September 2021 to 10 September 2021, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,001 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 Leon County

  • Michael (2018)6 October 2018 to 15 October 2018, peak Category 4 (135 kt), 920 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Kate (1985)15 November 1985 to 23 November 1985, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Alma (1966)5 June 1966 to 14 June 1966, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 970 hPa

More in Florida

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.