Pinellas County, Florida Hurricane History

No active tropical cyclones are within 500 miles of Pinellas County, Florida as of Thursday, 10 September 2026. Official forecasts at nhc.noaa.gov.

Since 1852, 62 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Pinellas County, Florida — about one every 2.8 years. Of those, 17 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Milton (2024), which passed 37 miles away on 10 October 2024.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

2.8

Avg. years between

Years since the last

Storm tracks within 50 miles

TS / TDCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5

Each line is one storm track, coloured by the strongest category it reached while within 50 miles. The dashed ring marks that 50-mile radius; hairlines are one-degree graticule. Source: NOAA NHC HURDAT2.

How strong they get

Cat 4 · 1Cat 3 · 2Cat 2 · 6Cat 1 · 9TS / TD · 44

The 62 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 1 of them reached Cat 4.

Key facts

Most recentMilton (2024) — 37 mi away, 10 October 2024
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1935) — 113 kt (130 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordHenri (2003) — 0.4 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)Unnamed Storm (1921) — 9.8 miles
Passes within 25 miles28 of 62
Peak monthSeptember — 18 storms (29% of all)
Most active year1928 — 2 storms
Most active decade1940s and 1960s — 7 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi3
Record span1852–2024

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Pinellas County, Florida, September is the most active month, with 18 of the 62 recorded storms (29%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 69% of all activity. The 1940s and 1960s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 7 storms. 3 of the 62 storms were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) while within 50 miles.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
0	0	0	0	2	8	5	9	18	16	4	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1850s to 2020s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 17 storms in 1950–1987 against 14 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
3	0	3	4	3	2	1	3	5	7	2	7	3	6	3	5	2	3

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Milton (2024)	10 Oct 2024	36.9 mi	Cat 2	95 kt
Elsa (2021)	7 Jul 2021	43.5 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Eta (2020)	12 Nov 2020	40.8 mi	TS / TD	54 kt
Irma (2017)	11 Sep 2017	41.8 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Emily (2017)	31 Jul 2017	28.1 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Barry (2007)	2 Jun 2007	18.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Jeanne (2004)	26 Sep 2004	40.8 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Frances (2004)	6 Sep 2004	26.9 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Henri (2003)	6 Sep 2003	0.4 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Gabrielle (2001)	14 Sep 2001	44.0 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Erin (1995)	2 Aug 1995	35.4 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1992)	26 Jun 1992	35.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Marco (1990)	11 Oct 1990	6.2 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Keith (1988)	23 Nov 1988	41.8 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1987)	4 Nov 1987	9.4 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1984)	27 Oct 1984	14.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Barry (1983)	25 Aug 1983	41.3 mi	TS / TD	23 kt
Unnamed Storm (1982)	18 Jun 1982	40.9 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1980)	18 Nov 1980	13.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1974)	25 Jun 1974	10.2 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1971)	15 Aug 1971	29.8 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Alma (1970)	25 May 1970	37.3 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Jenny (1969)	4 Oct 1969	4.4 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Gladys (1968)	18 Oct 1968	32.6 mi	Cat 2	84 kt
Unnamed Storm (1968)	29 Aug 1968	23.4 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1966)	1 Jul 1966	14.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Alma (1966)	9 Jun 1966	46.3 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1965)	19 Oct 1965	26.8 mi	TS / TD	26 kt
Florence (1960)	25 Sep 1960	9.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1959)	18 Jun 1959	6.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Easy (1950)	6 Sep 1950	36.2 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	27 Aug 1949	41.8 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	23 Sep 1947	18.3 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1946)	8 Oct 1946	16.3 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1945)	24 Jun 1945	48.2 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1944)	19 Oct 1944	32.0 mi	Cat 2	84 kt
Unnamed Storm (1941)	6 Oct 1941	37.0 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	3 Aug 1940	45.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1939)	12 Aug 1939	25.5 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	29 Jul 1937	11.3 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	4 Sep 1935	25.6 mi	Cat 3	107 kt
Unnamed Storm (1933)	4 Sep 1933	40.8 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1930)	9 Sep 1930	23.1 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	17 Sep 1928	46.0 mi	Cat 1	82 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	13 Aug 1928	35.4 mi	TS / TD	51 kt
Unnamed Storm (1921)	25 Oct 1921	9.8 mi	Cat 3	100 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	15 May 1916	49.2 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Unnamed Storm (1909)	29 Jun 1909	50.0 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1903)	12 Sep 1903	15.5 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1899)	5 Oct 1899	0.4 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	2 Aug 1898	13.7 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1892)	24 Oct 1892	21.1 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	8 Sep 1888	36.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	30 Oct 1887	13.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	18 Jul 1886	20.9 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1880)	8 Oct 1880	48.9 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1878)	10 Sep 1878	28.9 mi	Cat 2	87 kt
Unnamed Storm (1873)	23 Sep 1873	6.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1872)	23 Oct 1872	6.0 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1859)	28 Oct 1859	14.2 mi	Cat 1	80 kt
Unnamed Storm (1858)	14 Sep 1858	21.9 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	12 Sep 1852	6.5 mi	Cat 1	70 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 1 system passed within 50 miles after losing tropical characteristics. These are excluded from the counts above because they were no longer tropical cyclones at their closest approach — but several were highly damaging, so they are listed here.

Storm	Status	Closest approach	Distance	Wind
Ana (1991)	Remnant low	1 Jul 1991	6.2 mi	20 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1852–2025. Tracks are recorded every six hours and are interpolated to one-hour steps before distances are measured, so closest-approach figures are not distorted by the sampling interval. Distances are measured to the county's Census internal point, not to its nearest boundary, so a storm listed at 55 miles may still have crossed the coastline — see Methodology. Records before about 1900 are sparser and less precise than modern ones, and storms that stayed at sea were less likely to be recorded at all.

Storms that came back

2 named storms in this record passed Pinellas County, Florida more than once.

Alma — 2 passes (1966, 1970)
Barry — 2 passes (1983, 2007)

How Pinellas County, Florida compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Pinellas County, Florida ranks #99 — more exposed than 95.5% of them. Within Florida it ranks #44 of 67, against a state average of 63.4 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 4 Unnamed Storm (1935) passed 26 miles away on 4 September 1935 as a hurricane, reaching 113 kt (130 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Milton (2024) passed 37 miles away on 10 October 2024 as a hurricane, reaching 105 kt (121 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Unnamed Storm (1921) passed 10 miles away on 25 October 1921 as a hurricane, reaching 101 kt (116 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 2 Easy (1950) passed 36 miles away on 6 September 1950 as a hurricane, reaching 92 kt (106 mph) while within 50 miles.

52 of the 62 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 2.8 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 62 storms spread over the 174 years from 1852 to 2025. 5 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while stretches of a decade or more have passed with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 13 years, between 1859 and 1872. It has been 1 year since the last one; 35 of the 56 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Pinellas County, Florida?

17 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Pinellas County, Florida at hurricane strength since 1852. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 62.

When was the last hurricane in Pinellas County, Florida?

Milton (2024), on 10 October 2024, passing 37 miles away — 2 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Milton (2024) in 2024.

What was the strongest storm to affect Pinellas County, Florida?

Unnamed Storm (1935), which reached 113 kt (130 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 26 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Pinellas County, Florida?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 2.8 years — 62 storms over the 174 years from 1852 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Pinellas County, Florida borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Pasco County, Florida has 70 on record.

Pasco County, Florida70 storms within 50 mi Hernando County, Florida66 storms within 50 mi Hillsborough County, Florida65 storms within 50 mi Manatee County, Florida63 storms within 50 mi