Hurricanes that hit Sarasota County, Florida: hurricane history

56 storms have passed within 50 km of Sarasota 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 Sarasota County

The record holds 56 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Sarasota County, Florida between 1852 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 19 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 5 strength. 4 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 56storms within 50 km
  • 8major (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 Sarasota County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression916%
Tropical storm2545%
Category 159%
Category 259%
Category 347%
Category 435%
Category 512%
Unknown intensity47%

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

Sarasota County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 6 in 1940s.1850s1880s1900s1920s1940s1960s1980s2000s2020s

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
1870s3
1880s2
1890s5
1900s5
1910s2
1920s3
1930s3
1940s6
1950s3
1960s5
1970s1
1980s5
1990s2
2000s3
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 19 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun2Jul4Aug8Sep19Oct17Nov5Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun2
Jul4
Aug8
Sep19
Oct17
Nov5
Dec0

Strongest storms near Sarasota County

  • Ian (2022)22 September 2022 to 1 October 2022, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 937 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1935 (North Atlantic)29 August 1935 to 10 September 1935, Category 4 (130 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (160 kt), 892 hPa
  • Charley (2004)9 August 2004 to 15 August 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 947 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 September 1926 (North Atlantic)11 September 1926 to 22 September 1926, Category 3 (105 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa

Most recent storms near Sarasota County

  • Milton (2024)4 October 2024 to 11 October 2024, Category 4 (115 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 902 hPa
  • Ian (2022)22 September 2022 to 1 October 2022, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 937 hPa
  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, Category 3 (100 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 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 Sarasota 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
  • Ian (2022)22 September 2022 to 1 October 2022, peak Category 5 (140 kt), 937 hPa
  • Charley (2004)9 August 2004 to 15 August 2004, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 947 hPa
  • Donna (1960)29 August 1960 to 14 September 1960, peak Category 4 (125 kt), 930 hPa

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