Walton County, Florida Hurricane History

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

Since 1851, 55 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Walton County, Florida — about one every 3.2 years. Of those, 19 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Fred (2021), which passed 45 miles away on 17 August 2021.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.2

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 · 6Cat 2 · 4Cat 1 · 9TS / TD · 36

The 55 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 6 of them reached Cat 3.

Key facts

Most recentFred (2021) — 45 mi away, 17 August 2021
Strongest stormEloise (1975) — 110 kt (127 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordFlorence (1953) — 1.8 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)Eloise (1975) — 7.0 miles
Passes within 25 miles31 of 55
Peak monthSeptember — 22 storms (40% of all)
Most active year1885 — 3 storms
Most active decade1880s — 7 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi6
Record span1851–2021

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Walton County, Florida, September is the most active month, with 22 of the 55 recorded storms (40%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 80% of all activity. The 1880s was the most active decade on record, with 7 storms. 6 of the 55 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	1	4	5	15	22	7	1	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: 9 storms in 1950–1987 against 12 in 1988–2025.

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

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Fred (2021)	17 Aug 2021	45.4 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Alberto (2018)	28 May 2018	9.1 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Claudette (2009)	17 Aug 2009	22.9 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Fay (2008)	23 Aug 2008	2.0 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Ten (2007)	21 Sep 2007	32.8 mi	TS / TD	26 kt
Tammy (2005)	6 Oct 2005	29.6 mi	TS / TD	12 kt
Barry (2001)	6 Aug 2001	14.2 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Helene (2000)	22 Sep 2000	16.1 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Georges (1998)	30 Sep 1998	8.9 mi	TS / TD	29 kt
Earl (1998)	3 Sep 1998	42.7 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Opal (1995)	4 Oct 1995	47.1 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Alberto (1994)	3 Jul 1994	12.1 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1987)	14 Aug 1987	18.4 mi	TS / TD	15 kt
Eloise (1975)	23 Sep 1975	7.0 mi	Cat 3	101 kt
Unnamed Storm (1969)	1 Oct 1969	38.0 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1969)	21 Sep 1969	8.9 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1965)	15 Jun 1965	21.9 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Debbie (1957)	8 Sep 1957	15.3 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Flossy (1956)	25 Sep 1956	6.3 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Florence (1953)	26 Sep 1953	1.8 mi	Cat 1	73 kt
Alice (1953)	6 Jun 1953	17.8 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1948)	9 Jul 1948	46.2 mi	TS / TD	34 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	7 Oct 1947	21.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1939)	13 Aug 1939	18.4 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Unnamed Storm (1937)	31 Aug 1937	27.0 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1936)	22 Aug 1936	15.9 mi	TS / TD	26 kt
Unnamed Storm (1936)	31 Jul 1936	28.6 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1929)	1 Oct 1929	37.7 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1926)	20 Sep 1926	50.0 mi	Cat 3	106 kt
Unnamed Storm (1917)	29 Sep 1917	9.8 mi	Cat 2	88 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	4 Sep 1915	47.0 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Unnamed Storm (1914)	18 Sep 1914	16.0 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	4 Aug 1911	31.2 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1907)	28 Sep 1907	42.7 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1907)	28 Jun 1907	24.4 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1906)	12 Jun 1906	33.5 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	3 Nov 1904	7.2 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1903)	14 Sep 1903	22.2 mi	Cat 1	70 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	17 Sep 1901	11.1 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1899)	2 Aug 1899	43.7 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	3 Aug 1898	4.2 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1896)	7 Jul 1896	8.4 mi	Cat 1	81 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	9 Oct 1894	44.0 mi	Cat 3	105 kt
Unnamed Storm (1889)	23 Sep 1889	41.6 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	27 Jul 1887	18.0 mi	Cat 1	68 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	29 Sep 1885	2.0 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	21 Sep 1885	48.5 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	30 Aug 1885	39.6 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1882)	10 Sep 1882	21.1 mi	Cat 2	95 kt
Unnamed Storm (1880)	31 Aug 1880	17.4 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1879)	16 Oct 1879	28.6 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	19 Sep 1877	5.4 mi	TS / TD	62 kt
Unnamed Storm (1875)	27 Sep 1875	42.5 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	31 Aug 1856	30.1 mi	Cat 2	90 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	23 Aug 1851	42.7 mi	Cat 3	100 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
Five (2010)	Remnant low	16 Aug 2010	44.1 mi	20 kt
Ida (2009)	Post-tropical	11 Nov 2009	4.3 mi	25 kt
Hilda (1964)	Post-tropical	5 Oct 1964	6.2 mi	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1934)	Post-tropical	6 Oct 1934	48.1 mi	30 kt

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

1 named storm in this record passed Walton County, Florida more than once.

Alberto — 2 passes (1994, 2018)

How Walton County, Florida compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Walton County, Florida ranks #150 — more exposed than 93.2% of them. Within Florida it ranks #61 of 67, against a state average of 63.4 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 3 Eloise (1975) passed 7 miles away on 23 September 1975 as a hurricane, reaching 110 kt (127 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Unnamed Storm (1882) passed 21 miles away on 10 September 1882 as a hurricane, reaching 110 kt (127 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Unnamed Storm (1926) passed 50 miles away on 20 September 1926 as a hurricane, reaching 105 kt (121 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 3 Unnamed Storm (1894) passed 44 miles away on 9 October 1894 as a hurricane, reaching 105 kt (121 mph) while within 50 miles.

52 of the 55 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.2 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 55 storms spread over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025. 6 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 19 years, between 1856 and 1875. It has been 4 years since the last one; 12 of the 47 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Walton County, Florida?

19 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Walton County, Florida at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 55.

When was the last hurricane in Walton County, Florida?

Earl (1998), on 3 September 1998, passing 43 miles away — 28 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Fred (2021) in 2021.

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

Eloise (1975), which reached 110 kt (127 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 7 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Walton County, Florida?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.2 years — 55 storms over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Walton County, Florida borders or sits close to 6 other counties with a published storm record. Washington County, Florida has 55 on record.

Washington County, Florida55 storms within 50 mi Holmes County, Florida54 storms within 50 mi Bay County, Florida53 storms within 50 mi Okaloosa County, Florida52 storms within 50 mi Covington County, Alabama51 storms within 50 mi Geneva County, Alabama43 storms within 50 mi