Hurricanes that hit Pinellas County, Florida: hurricane history

61 storms have passed within 50 km of Pinellas County from 1852 to 2024, 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 Pinellas County

The record holds 61 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Pinellas County, Florida between 1852 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 21 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 61storms within 50 km
  • 3major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 18at 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 Pinellas County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1321%
Tropical storm2744%
Category 11016%
Category 258%
Category 312%
Category 423%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity35%

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

Pinellas County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1980s.1850s1870s1890s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, 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
1850s4
1860s1
1870s4
1880s5
1890s3
1900s2
1920s3
1930s5
1940s6
1950s2
1960s6
1970s2
1980s7
1990s3
2000s5
2010s2
2020s1

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 21 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun5Jul4Aug11Sep21Oct16Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun5
Jul4
Aug11
Sep21
Oct16
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Pinellas County

  • Unnamed storm of August 1935 (North Atlantic)29 August 1935 to 10 September 1935, Category 4 (115 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 892 hPa
  • Milton (2024)4 October 2024 to 11 October 2024, Category 4 (115 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1921 (North Atlantic)20 October 1921 to 30 October 1921, Category 3 (105 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Easy (1950)1 September 1950 to 9 September 1950, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 960 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1878 (North Atlantic)1 September 1878 to 13 September 1878, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa

Most recent storms near Pinellas County

  • Milton (2024)4 October 2024 to 11 October 2024, Category 4 (115 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Emily (2017)30 July 2017 to 2 August 2017, peak Tropical storm (45 kt), 1,003 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 Pinellas County

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Milton (2024)4 October 2024 to 11 October 2024, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Frances (2004)25 August 2004 to 10 September 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 937 hPa
  • Easy (1950)1 September 1950 to 9 September 1950, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 960 hPa
  • Jeanne (2004)13 September 2004 to 29 September 2004, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 951 hPa

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