Historical record — not a forecast

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg, FL has had 51 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane).

FL51 storms since 185114 at hurricane strength or higher3 major (Cat 3+)
Noir atlas

Location 01

St. Petersburg

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The historical record

Storm history

51 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of St. Petersburg 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
12
Tropical Storm
25
Category 1 Hurricane
7
Category 2 Hurricane
4
Category 3 Hurricane
3

By decade

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

Strongest & most recent

Strongest on record
an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 54.8 km in 1935
Most recent
Milton (2024, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 40.6 km in 2024
Coordinates
27.76273, -82.64413
Basin
atlantic

Notable storms on record

  • Milton (2024) Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 40.6 km on 2024-10-10
  • Unnamed storm (1935) Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 54.8 km on 1935-09-04
  • Unnamed storm (1921) Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 40.5 km on 1921-10-25
  • Unnamed storm (1944) Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 64.2 km on 1944-10-19
  • Unnamed storm (1878) Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 47.6 km on 1878-09-09
  • Gladys (1968) Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 74.6 km on 1968-10-19
  • Unnamed storm (1928) Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 63.5 km on 1928-09-17
  • Unnamed storm (1859) Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 16.9 km on 1859-10-28

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 4.5 years, historically
Hurricane strength
on average every 12.5 years, historically
Major hurricane (Cat 3+)
on average every 58.3 years, historically
How many hurricanes and storms have hit near St. Petersburg?

Since 1851, 51 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of St. Petersburg, FL, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.

What was the strongest storm to affect St. Petersburg?

an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 54.8 km in 1935, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.

Is this a hurricane forecast for St. Petersburg?

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.