NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Apollo Beach, FL
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
76 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Apollo Beach, Florida since 1851, 28 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Milton in 2024. Since 1950, 304 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 28
- Tropical storms
- 48
- Tornadoes
- 304
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
22 deaths in all
What the records show for Apollo Beach
The strongest storm to pass near Apollo Beach was an unnamed storm in 1935, a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds when its centre passed 42 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1859, whose centre came within 6 miles. The record near Apollo Beach begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Milton in 2024, a Category 2 hurricane 16 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 8 systems, 6 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 76 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Apollo Beach has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 407 Florida cities on this site. The highest rating among the 304 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 4, 1966, came within 16 miles. Of the 304, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 59. The most recent tornado was on September 25, 2025. Apollo Beach has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 407 Florida cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1958, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 407 Florida cities, 49% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Apollo Beach.
Compare Apollo Beach's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Apollo Beach
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | MiltonOct 10 | 16 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2022 | NicoleNov 10 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2022 | IanSep 29 | 59 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 7 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | EtaNov 12 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2017 | IrmaSep 11 | 21 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2017 | EmilyJul 31 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2007 | BarryJun 2 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 26 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | FrancesSep 5 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 13 | 39 mi | Category 3 (112 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2001 | GabrielleSep 14 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1995 | JerryAug 24 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | ErinAug 2 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1990 | MarcoOct 11 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1988 | KeithNov 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1984 | IsidoreSep 28 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1982 | Unnamed 1982 stormJun 18 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | GladysOct 19 | 56 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1968 | AbbyJun 4 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1966 | Unnamed 1966 stormJul 1 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1966 | AlmaJun 9 | 63 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 11 | 36 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1959 | JudithOct 18 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | Unnamed 1959 stormJun 18 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1953 | HazelOct 9 | 72 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1951 | HowOct 2 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1950 | KingOct 18 | 70 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | EasySep 6 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 27 | 30 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 23 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 8 | 10 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 16 | 39 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 5 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormJun 24 | 60 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 19 | 6 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormOct 6 | 49 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 12 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormJul 29 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 4 | 42 mi | Category 3 (125 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormSep 4 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormJul 31 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1930 | Unnamed 1930 stormSep 9 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 17 | 25 mi | Category 2 (97 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 13 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 9 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 19 | 58 mi | Category 3 (119 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormOct 25 | 32 mi | Category 3 (113 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 15 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1910 | Unnamed 1910 stormOct 18 | 31 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJun 29 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormOct 18 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 12 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 11 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 5 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormJul 31 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 2 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 21 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormSep 26 | 45 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormOct 24 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 8 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 17 | 72 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 30 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 18 | 46 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 8 | 71 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 30 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 9 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1873 | Unnamed 1873 stormOct 7 | 72 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1873 | Unnamed 1873 stormSep 23 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 23 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 25 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 17 | 57 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormOct 28 | 6 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormOct 18 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormSep 12 | 20 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Apollo Beach: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Apollo Beach
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s32
- 2000s23
- 1990s80(1 EF3+)
- 1980s42
- 1970s63(1 EF3+)
- 1960s38(1 EF3+)
- 1950s13(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1966 | F4 | 16 mi | 135.8 mi | 11 / 530 |
| Apr 15, 1958 | F4 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Oct 3, 1992 | F3 | 18 mi | 2.6 mi | 3 / 75 |
| May 4, 1978 | F3 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 3 / 94 |
| Oct 31, 1958 | F3 | 20 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jan 17, 2016 | EF2 | 19 mi | 9.2 mi | 2 / 4 |
| Dec 7, 1996 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Oct 3, 1992 | F2 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Dec 16, 2020 | EF2 | 14 mi | 13.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 11, 1983 | F2 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 2, 1983 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Dec 15, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 304, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Apollo Beach
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Apollo Beach since 1958, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on March 30, 1996. The most recent report is from May 3, 2017. June has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Apollo Beach
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Tampa Bay Area WFO, FL, 5 miles south of Apollo Beach at 40 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 74°F; January is the coolest, at 72°F and 51°F. August is the wettest at 8.8 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 53.7 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 70% of the year's precipitation (37.5 of 53.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 76 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (24); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 7.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 97 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 2 nights a year. That 53.7 inches is more than at 58 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (46%). Brandon, 13 miles northeast, has its own station (Plant City, FL): 56.2 inches a year, 2.5 more than here, and an August average high of 94°F against 91°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station East Bay, FL, 11 miles north, averaged 89°F in July and 64°F in January over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from May to October. Sea level at the East Bay tide gauge, 11 miles from Apollo Beach, has risen 2.17 ± 0.16 inches per decade from 1976 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 21.7 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 125 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 72 | 51 | 2.7 | 4 | 64 |
| Feb | 75 | 53 | 2.2 | 4 | 67 |
| Mar | 78 | 57 | 3.0 | 4 | 74 |
| Apr | 83 | 62 | 2.7 | 3 | 78 |
| May | 88 | 67 | 3.0 | 4 | 84 |
| Jun | 90 | 72 | 7.9 | 10 | 87 |
| Jul | 91 | 74 | 8.2 | 12 | 89 |
| Aug | 91 | 74 | 8.8 | 12 | 89 |
| Sep | 90 | 73 | 7.7 | 9 | 86 |
| Oct | 85 | 67 | 2.9 | 4 | 80 |
| Nov | 79 | 58 | 2.0 | 3 | 74 |
| Dec | 74 | 54 | 2.6 | 4 | 68 |
| Year | 83 | 63 | 53.7 | 72 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Tampa Bay Area WFO, FL (40 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station East Bay, FL, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Apollo Beach
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 70 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Apollo Beach: 49 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 lightning strikes, 6 floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on June 21, 2010.
July 16, 2014: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Apollo Beach — 1 injured.
NWS: “An official at MacDill Air Force Base reported that an individual was struck and injured by lightning at around 1030AM near the runway.”
June 30, 2022: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Apollo Beach — 1 injured.
September 10, 2017: flood 7 miles from the centre of Apollo Beach — $2.0 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Apollo Beach's ZIP code 33572 have filed 985 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $86.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 725 claims (74% of all) and $85.0 million, then Hurricane Milton in 2024 with 56 and Hurricane Irma in 2017 with 23. 94% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 340 Florida cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 242 have fewer than Apollo Beach.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 725 | $85.0 million |
| Hurricane Milton2024 | 56 | $626,000 |
| Hurricane Irma2017 | 23 | $45,000 |
| Blizzard of 19931993 | 21 | $266,000 |
| Hurricane Jeanne2004 | 14 | $199,000 |
| Hurricane Elena1985 | 13 | $5,766 |
Hillsborough County, which includes Apollo Beach, has been named in 47 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 21 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 5 fires, 5 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Milton, on October 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hillsborough County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively High for hail, inland flooding, coastal flooding and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $494.6 million a year, the 4th highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $178.3 million (36%), is from hurricanes.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.