Historical record — not a forecast
Pensacola
Pensacola, FL has had 49 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
Pensacola
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The historical record
Storm history
49 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Pensacola since 1851, based on NOAA’s HURDAT2 best-track data (1851-2025). Atlantic storm counts before the mid-20th century undercount storms that stayed at sea; aircraft reconnaissance began in the 1940s and systematic satellite coverage in 1966. Storms that struck populated coastline are the most reliably recorded part of the record.
By storm category
- Tropical Depression
- 9
- Tropical Storm
- 23
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 6
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 5
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 6
By decade
- 1870s
- 2
- 1880s
- 5
- 1890s
- 2
- 1900s
- 3
- 1910s
- 5
- 1920s
- 1
- 1930s
- 5
- 1940s
- 1
- 1950s
- 3
- 1960s
- 4
- 1970s
- 1
- 1980s
- 3
- 1990s
- 5
- 2000s
- 8
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt) passed within 37.8 km in 1882
- Most recent
- Sally (2020, Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt) passed within 39.7 km in 2020
- Coordinates
- 30.44099, -87.19124
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Dennis (2005) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 9.9 km on 2005-07-10
- Unnamed storm (1882) — Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt, passed within 37.8 km on 1882-09-10
- Ivan (2004) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 73.1 km on 2004-09-16
- Unnamed storm (1926) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 18.8 km on 1926-09-20
- Opal (1995) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 18.0 km on 1995-10-04
- Unnamed storm (1917) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 38.7 km on 1917-09-29
- Sally (2020) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 39.7 km on 2020-09-16
- Unnamed storm (1916) — Category 2 Hurricane, 95 kt, passed within 20.5 km on 1916-10-18
Historical return intervals
These are plain historical averages — years of record divided by how many times a storm of that strength has passed within 75 km. They are not a probability or a forecast of a future storm; they describe how often storms of each strength have occurred in the past.
- Tropical storm strength or greater
- on average every 4.4 years, historically
- Hurricane strength
- on average every 10.3 years, historically
- Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
- on average every 29.2 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near Pensacola?
Since 1851, 49 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Pensacola, FL, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Pensacola?
an unnamed storm (1882, Category 3 Hurricane, 110 kt) passed within 37.8 km in 1882, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Pensacola?
No. This page presents only historical, already-occurred storm data. It contains no forecast, prediction, or safety or evacuation guidance. Return-interval figures above are historical averages, not a probability of a future storm. See our methodology.
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