St. Johns County, Florida Hurricane History

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

Since 1867, 72 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of St. Johns County, Florida — about one every 2.2 years. Of those, 16 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Eta (2020), which passed 41 miles away on 12 November 2020.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

2.2

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 3 · 3Cat 2 · 3Cat 1 · 12TS / TD · 54

The 72 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 3 of them reached Cat 3.

Key facts

Most recentEta (2020) — 41 mi away, 12 November 2020
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1893) — 105 kt (121 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordDora (1964) — 2.7 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)Matthew (2016) — 43.0 miles
Passes within 25 miles33 of 72
Peak monthSeptember and October — 20 storms (28% of all)
Most active year1968 — 4 storms
Most active decade1960s and 1980s — 9 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi3
Record span1867–2020

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In St. Johns County, Florida, September and October are tied as the most active months, with 20 of the 72 recorded storms (28%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 71% of all activity. The 1960s and 1980s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 9 storms. 3 of the 72 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	9	6	11	20	20	4	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1860s to 2020s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 22 storms in 1950–1987 against 14 in 1988–2025.

1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
1	6	7	4	2	4	2	6	4	2	9	3	9	2	6	4	1

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Eta (2020)	12 Nov 2020	41.2 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Matthew (2016)	7 Oct 2016	43.0 mi	Cat 3	99 kt
Julia (2016)	14 Sep 2016	8.2 mi	TS / TD	44 kt
Debby (2012)	27 Jun 2012	27.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Beryl (2012)	28 May 2012	21.4 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Fay (2008)	22 Aug 2008	35.1 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Barry (2007)	2 Jun 2007	35.5 mi	TS / TD	31 kt
Tammy (2005)	5 Oct 2005	15.8 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Charley (2004)	14 Aug 2004	29.2 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
Edouard (2002)	5 Sep 2002	38.4 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Leslie (2000)	4 Oct 2000	44.4 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Georges (1998)	1 Oct 1998	48.4 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Gordon (1994)	21 Nov 1994	12.0 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1988)	14 Aug 1988	42.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Isabel (1985)	10 Oct 1985	36.9 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Isidore (1984)	28 Sep 1984	32.8 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1984)	13 Jun 1984	11.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1982)	18 Jun 1982	14.2 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Dennis (1981)	19 Aug 1981	36.0 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1981)	3 Jul 1981	32.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1980)	18 Nov 1980	14.5 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1980)	18 Jul 1980	27.0 mi	TS / TD	23 kt
David (1979)	4 Sep 1979	32.1 mi	Cat 2	85 kt
Unnamed Storm (1976)	14 Sep 1976	6.6 mi	TS / TD	22 kt
Unnamed Storm (1973)	26 Sep 1973	17.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Gladys (1968)	19 Oct 1968	10.9 mi	Cat 1	72 kt
Unnamed Storm (1968)	31 Aug 1968	14.5 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Brenda (1968)	20 Jun 1968	31.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Abby (1968)	6 Jun 1968	12.0 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1965)	18 Oct 1965	38.4 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Dora (1964)	10 Sep 1964	2.7 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Cleo (1964)	28 Aug 1964	6.6 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1964)	6 Jun 1964	12.3 mi	TS / TD	28 kt
Donna (1960)	11 Sep 1960	27.4 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
King (1950)	18 Oct 1950	48.7 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Easy (1950)	7 Sep 1950	23.1 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1946)	3 Nov 1946	13.0 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1945)	17 Sep 1945	5.0 mi	Cat 1	64 kt
Unnamed Storm (1945)	24 Jun 1945	20.9 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Unnamed Storm (1944)	19 Oct 1944	17.9 mi	TS / TD	59 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	21 Sep 1937	28.0 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	30 Aug 1937	44.6 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	30 Jul 1937	38.9 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1936)	22 Aug 1936	45.9 mi	TS / TD	43 kt
Unnamed Storm (1934)	23 Jul 1934	5.0 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1930)	10 Sep 1930	44.0 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	18 Sep 1928	21.9 mi	Cat 1	66 kt
Unnamed Storm (1926)	28 Jul 1926	21.5 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Unnamed Storm (1916)	15 May 1916	28.3 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	2 Aug 1915	13.5 mi	TS / TD	43 kt
Unnamed Storm (1914)	17 Sep 1914	41.0 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1910)	19 Oct 1910	30.2 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1906)	21 Oct 1906	4.4 mi	TS / TD	47 kt
Unnamed Storm (1900)	12 Oct 1900	43.1 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1899)	5 Oct 1899	39.9 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	26 Sep 1894	17.2 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	13 Oct 1893	43.3 mi	Cat 3	105 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	27 Aug 1893	46.5 mi	Cat 3	100 kt
Unnamed Storm (1889)	17 Jun 1889	20.1 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	11 Oct 1888	28.7 mi	Cat 1	75 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	30 Oct 1887	49.4 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	19 Jul 1886	9.0 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	30 Sep 1885	26.3 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	24 Aug 1885	41.7 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1880)	8 Oct 1880	4.9 mi	TS / TD	62 kt
Unnamed Storm (1879)	28 Oct 1879	18.1 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1878)	11 Sep 1878	4.4 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	27 Oct 1877	14.3 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Unnamed Storm (1874)	28 Sep 1874	41.4 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Unnamed Storm (1873)	23 Sep 1873	35.3 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	7 Sep 1871	32.0 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1867)	7 Oct 1867	24.9 mi	TS / TD	40 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 4 systems 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
Omar (2020)	Remnant low	30 Aug 2020	47.0 mi	25 kt
Ana (1991)	Remnant low	2 Jul 1991	8.8 mi	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1920)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1920	27.6 mi	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1912)	Post-tropical	4 Oct 1912	47.7 mi	30 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1867–2025. 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.

How St. Johns County, Florida compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, St. Johns County, Florida ranks #26 — more exposed than 98.8% of them. Within Florida it ranks #5 of 67, against a state average of 63.4 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 3 Unnamed (October 1893) passed 43 miles away on 13 October 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 105 kt (121 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Matthew (2016) passed 43 miles away on 7 October 2016 as a hurricane, reaching 100 kt (115 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Unnamed (August 1893) passed 47 miles away on 27 August 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 100 kt (115 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 2 Dora (1964) passed 3 miles away on 10 September 1964 as a hurricane, reaching 95 kt (109 mph) while within 50 miles.

57 of the 72 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 2.2 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 72 storms spread over the 159 years from 1867 to 2025. 12 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 10 years, between 1916 and 1926. It has been 5 years since the last one; 5 of the 55 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit St. Johns County, Florida?

16 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of St. Johns County, Florida at hurricane strength since 1867. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 72.

When was the last hurricane in St. Johns County, Florida?

Matthew (2016), on 7 October 2016, passing 43 miles away — 10 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Eta (2020) in 2020.

What was the strongest storm to affect St. Johns County, Florida?

Unnamed Storm (1893), which reached 105 kt (121 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 43 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit St. Johns County, Florida?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 2.2 years — 72 storms over the 159 years from 1867 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

St. Johns County, Florida borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Flagler County, Florida has 69 on record.

Flagler County, Florida69 storms within 50 mi Putnam County, Florida65 storms within 50 mi Duval County, Florida64 storms within 50 mi Clay County, Florida59 storms within 50 mi