Hurricane History Map

Hurricanes that hit Palm Beach County, Florida: hurricane history

97 storms have passed within 50 km of Palm Beach County from 1851 to 2022, 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 Palm Beach County

The record holds 97 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Palm Beach County, Florida between 1851 and 2022. The busiest month is October, with 26 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 5 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 97storms within 50 km
  • 14major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 37at 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 Palm Beach County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1313%
Tropical storm4243%
Category 11212%
Category 21111%
Category 377%
Category 477%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity55%

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

Palm Beach County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 9 in 1950s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2022, 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
1850s6
1860s3
1870s7
1880s4
1890s5
1900s8
1910s2
1920s6
1930s4
1940s7
1950s9
1960s8
1970s7
1980s6
1990s5
2000s6
2010s2
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 26 in Oct.Jan0Feb1Mar0Apr0May1Jun7Jul7Aug25Sep21Oct26Nov8Dec1
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb1
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun7
Jul7
Aug25
Sep21
Oct26
Nov8
Dec1

Strongest storms near Palm Beach County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1928 (North Atlantic)6 September 1928 to 21 September 1928, Category 4 (130 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 929 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1926 (North Atlantic)11 September 1926 to 22 September 1926, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1945 (North Atlantic)12 September 1945 to 20 September 1945, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 949 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1947 (North Atlantic)4 September 1947 to 21 September 1947, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 938 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1948 (North Atlantic)18 September 1948 to 26 September 1948, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 940 hPa

Most recent storms near Palm Beach County

  • Nicole (2022)6 November 2022 to 11 November 2022, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 980 hPa
  • Alex (2022)2 June 2022 to 6 June 2022, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 984 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of July 2019 (North Atlantic)22 July 2019 to 23 July 2019, peak Tropical depression (30 kt), 1,013 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 Palm Beach County

  • Wilma (2005)15 October 2005 to 26 October 2005, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 882 hPa
  • Mitch (1998)22 October 1998 to 9 November 1998, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 905 hPa
  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Katrina (2005)23 August 2005 to 31 August 2005, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Cleo (1964)20 August 1964 to 11 September 1964, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 938 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • King (1950)13 October 1950 to 20 October 1950, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 955 hPa
  • Gerda (1969)7 September 1969 to 12 September 1969, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 980 hPa
  • Jeanne (2004)13 September 2004 to 29 September 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 951 hPa
  • Isbell (1964)9 October 1964 to 16 October 1964, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 964 hPa

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