Historical record — not a forecast
Tampa
Tampa, FL has had 55 storms pass within 75 km since 1851, the strongest being an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane).
Location 01
Tampa
Drag to explore · scroll to zoom · select a marker
The historical record
Storm history
55 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Tampa 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
- 13
- Tropical Storm
- 28
- Category 1 Hurricane
- 7
- Category 2 Hurricane
- 4
- Category 3 Hurricane
- 3
By decade
- 1850s
- 3
- 1870s
- 3
- 1880s
- 3
- 1890s
- 3
- 1900s
- 2
- 1910s
- 2
- 1920s
- 3
- 1930s
- 5
- 1940s
- 6
- 1950s
- 2
- 1960s
- 5
- 1970s
- 1
- 1980s
- 5
- 1990s
- 4
- 2000s
- 5
- 2010s
- 2
- 2020s
- 1
Strongest & most recent
- Strongest on record
- an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 73.3 km in 1935
- Most recent
- Milton (2024, Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt) passed within 64.5 km in 2024
- Coordinates
- 27.97009, -82.47967
- Basin
- atlantic
Notable storms on record
- Unnamed storm (1935) — Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt, passed within 73.3 km on 1935-09-04
- Milton (2024) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 64.5 km on 2024-10-10
- Unnamed storm (1921) — Category 3 Hurricane, 100 kt, passed within 34.6 km on 1921-10-25
- Easy (1950) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 45.2 km on 1950-09-06
- Unnamed storm (1878) — Category 2 Hurricane, 90 kt, passed within 62.8 km on 1878-09-10
- Gladys (1968) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 71.0 km on 1968-10-19
- Unnamed storm (1928) — Category 2 Hurricane, 85 kt, passed within 50.8 km on 1928-09-17
- Unnamed storm (1859) — Category 1 Hurricane, 80 kt, passed within 43.5 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 4.2 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 Tampa?
Since 1851, 55 tropical storms and hurricanes have passed within 75 km of Tampa, FL, based on NOAA HURDAT2 best-track data.
What was the strongest storm to affect Tampa?
an unnamed storm (1935, Category 3 Hurricane, 105 kt) passed within 73.3 km in 1935, reaching Category 3 Hurricane strength.
Is this a hurricane forecast for Tampa?
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.
Nearby places