NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Arcadia, 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
79 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Arcadia, Florida since 1851, 25 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Milton in 2024. Since 1950, 113 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 25
- Tropical storms
- 54
- Tornadoes
- 113
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Arcadia
The strongest storm to pass near Arcadia was an unnamed storm in 1935, a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Donna in 1960, whose centre came within 1 mile. The record near Arcadia begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Milton in 2024, a Category 2 hurricane 35 miles away. Of the 79 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Arcadia has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 48% of the 407 Florida cities on this site. The highest rating among the 113 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 9 times; the most recent, on June 21, 2006, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 30, 1968, killed 2 people. Of the 113, 24 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on July 21, 2025. Of the 407 Florida cities, 57% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Arcadia. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1992, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 407 Florida cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Arcadia.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Arcadia
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | MiltonOct 10 | 35 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2022 | NicoleNov 10 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2022 | IanSep 28 | 9 mi | Category 3 (120 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2022 | AlexJun 4 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | IrmaSep 11 | 2 mi | Category 1 (87 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2017 | EmilyJul 31 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | FayAug 19 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2006 | ErnestoAug 30 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 26 | 38 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | FrancesSep 5 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 13 | 6 mi | Category 3 (128 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2001 | GabrielleSep 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1998 | MitchNov 5 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1995 | JerryAug 24 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1995 | ErinAug 2 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1994 | GordonNov 16 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1990 | MarcoOct 11 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1988 | KeithNov 23 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | BobJul 23 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1984 | IsidoreSep 27 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1981 | DennisAug 18 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1969 | JennyOct 3 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | AbbyJun 4 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1966 | Unnamed 1966 stormJul 1 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | FlorenceSep 24 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 10 | 1 mi | Category 2 (100 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1959 | JudithOct 18 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | Unnamed 1959 stormJun 18 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormOct 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1953 | HazelOct 9 | 22 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1951 | HowOct 2 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1950 | KingOct 18 | 49 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | EasySep 6 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 27 | 34 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 18 | 54 mi | Category 2 (99 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 8 | 49 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 16 | 10 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 5 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 19 | 37 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormOct 6 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 12 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 3 | 50 mi | Category 4 (140 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormSep 4 | 38 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormJul 31 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1930 | Unnamed 1930 stormSep 9 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 17 | 28 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 13 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 8 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 18 | 46 mi | Category 3 (113 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1925 | Unnamed 1925 stormDec 1 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormAug 25 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 14 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1910 | Unnamed 1910 stormOct 18 | 4 mi | Category 1 (89 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormAug 29 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormJun 29 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormOct 18 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 12 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormAug 11 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 5 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormJul 31 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 2 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 21 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormOct 9 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormSep 25 | 4 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormOct 24 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 8 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 17 | 42 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 8 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormOct 20 | 67 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1873 | Unnamed 1873 stormOct 7 | 21 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1873 | Unnamed 1873 stormSep 23 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1872 | Unnamed 1872 stormOct 23 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 17 | 54 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1870 | Unnamed 1870 stormOct 20 | 58 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 1 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormOct 28 | 55 mi | Category 1 (90 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormOct 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 14 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormSep 12 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (67 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Arcadia: 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 Arcadia
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s12
- 2000s27
- 1990s28
- 1980s19
- 1970s15
- 1960s5
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 1968 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2006 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 4, 1993 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Dec 12, 1983 | F2 | 1 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Feb 1, 1972 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 3, 1971 | F2 | 17 mi | 7.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Feb 3, 1970 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 1963 | F2 | 17 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 26, 1958 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 2023 | EF1 | 24 mi | 4.61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 13, 2017 | EF1 | 15 mi | 0.18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 24, 2016 | EF1 | 15 mi | 2.72 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 113, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Arcadia
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Arcadia since 1992, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 8 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on May 3, 2005. The most recent report is from July 30, 2009. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Arcadia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Arcadia, FL, 1 mile north of Arcadia at 25 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 74°F and 47°F. June is the wettest at 9.6 inches of precipitation on average and November and December the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 53.9 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 72% of the year's precipitation (38.9 of 53.9 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 79 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (25); a normal September there has highs of 90°F and 7.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 114 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 5 nights a year. That 53.9 inches is more than at 59 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (47%). Punta Gorda, 20 miles southwest, has its own station (Punta Gorda 4 ESE, FL): 54.1 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and an August average high of 94°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 74 | 47 | 2.3 | 3 |
| Feb | 76 | 50 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 80 | 53 | 2.4 | 4 |
| Apr | 84 | 58 | 2.7 | 4 |
| May | 89 | 64 | 3.8 | 5 |
| Jun | 91 | 69 | 9.6 | 11 |
| Jul | 91 | 71 | 8.2 | 11 |
| Aug | 92 | 72 | 8.9 | 12 |
| Sep | 90 | 70 | 7.8 | 9 |
| Oct | 86 | 64 | 2.6 | 4 |
| Nov | 80 | 56 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 75 | 51 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Year | 84 | 60 | 53.9 | 71 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Arcadia, FL (25 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. 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 Arcadia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 26 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Arcadia: 24 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on May 3, 1996.
June 23, 2008: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Arcadia — 1 killed, 2 injured.
NWS: “m. EDT on June 23, 2008, Employee #1 was working at a ranch, clipping dead limbs off of a palm tree, when a heavy rain and lightning approached.”
September 10, 2017: flood 6 miles from the centre of Arcadia — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains from Hurricane Irma caused the Peace River at Arcadia to rise above flood stage on the 10th, with flooding continuing through the 28th. 20 feet above the major flooding threshold.”
January 3, 1999: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Arcadia — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds collapsed an airport hanger roof which damaged an aircraft in storage at the Arcadia Municipal Airport. Also, a few mobile homes incurred major roof damage and several trees and power lines were downed in the Forest Pines subdivision of Arcadia.”
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 Arcadia's 2 ZIP codes have filed 378 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1992, and were paid $16.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ian in 2022: 152 claims (40% of all) and $10.8 million, then Hurricane Irma in 2017 with 57 and Torrential rain in 2001 with 42. 85% 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, 187 have fewer than Arcadia.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ian2022 | 152 | $10.8 million |
| Hurricane Irma2017 | 57 | $2.3 million |
| Torrential rain2001 | 42 | $733,000 |
| Hurricane Frances2004 | 22 | $383,000 |
| Hurricane Charley2004 | 19 | $19,000 |
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 10 | $783,000 |
DeSoto County, which includes Arcadia, has been named in 38 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 4 fires, 4 severe storms, 4 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Milton, on October 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives DeSoto County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.3 million a year, the 41st highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.3 million (66%), 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.
Cities near Arcadia
- Punta Gorda, FL20 mi
- Zolfo Springs, FL21 mi
- North Port, FL22 mi
- Port Charlotte, FL22 mi
- Wauchula, FL24 mi
- Myakka City, FL26 mi
- Bowling Green, FL29 mi
- Lake Placid, FL31 mi
- Sebring, FL32 mi
- Rotonda West, FL32 mi
- Englewood, FL33 mi
- North Fort Myers, FL34 mi
All Florida cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Arcadia with another place →