Hurricanes that hit Escambia County, Alabama: hurricane history

60 storms have passed within 50 km of Escambia County from 1852 to 2026, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Escambia County

The record holds 60 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Escambia County, Alabama between 1852 and 2026. The busiest month is September, with 18 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 4 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 60storms within 50 km
  • 5major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 17at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Escambia County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression915%
Tropical storm3050%
Category 1712%
Category 258%
Category 358%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity47%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Escambia County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 10 in 2000s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2026, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s3
1870s3
1880s7
1890s3
1900s2
1910s4
1920s2
1930s5
1940s2
1950s2
1960s3
1970s1
1980s2
1990s5
2000s10
2010s1
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 18 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun6Jul10Aug12Sep18Oct13Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun6
Jul10
Aug12
Sep18
Oct13
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Escambia County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1882 (North Atlantic)1 September 1882 to 13 September 1882, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 949 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Dennis (2005)4 July 2005 to 18 July 2005, Category 3 (110 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, Category 3 (105 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1860 (North Atlantic)8 August 1860 to 16 August 1860, peak Category 3 (110 kt)

Most recent storms near Escambia County

  • Isaias (2026)4 October 2026 to 11 October 2026, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 959 hPa, provisional
  • Sally (2020)11 September 2020 to 18 September 2020, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 967 hPa
  • Alberto (2018)25 May 2018 to 31 May 2018, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 990 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Escambia County

  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa
  • Dennis (2005)4 July 2005 to 18 July 2005, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 930 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Isaias (2026)4 October 2026 to 11 October 2026, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 959 hPa, provisional

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