NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Walton 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
75 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fort Walton Beach, Florida since 1851, 28 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Fred in 2021. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 28
- Tropical storms
- 47
- Tornadoes
- 121
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Walton Beach
The strongest storm to pass near Fort Walton Beach was Michael in 2018, a Category 5 hurricane with 159 mph winds when its centre passed 72 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1936, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Fort Walton Beach begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Fred in 2021, a tropical storm 73 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 8 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 75 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Fort Walton Beach has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 62% of the 407 Florida cities on this site. The strongest of the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on December 25, 1964; its path came within 3 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on October 4, 1995, killed 1 person. Of the 121, 24 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. May and September have had the most tornadoes, 16 each. The most recent tornado was on May 10, 2025. Of the 407 Florida cities, 51% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fort Walton Beach. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1962, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 407 Florida cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fort Walton Beach.
Compare Fort Walton Beach's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Walton Beach
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | FredAug 16 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2020 | SallySep 16 | 53 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 19 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 10 | 72 mi | Category 5 (159 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2018 | AlbertoMay 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2009 | ClaudetteAug 17 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | FayAug 23 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | DennisJul 10 | 28 mi | Category 3 (122 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | ArleneJun 11 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2004 | IvanSep 16 | 73 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2001 | BarryAug 6 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2000 | HeleneSep 22 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | EarlSep 3 | 51 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1997 | DannyJul 20 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 4 | 24 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 3 | 30 mi | Category 1 (93 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1994 | BerylAug 15 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1994 | AlbertoJul 3 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | JuanOct 31 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 59 mi | Category 3 (123 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 19 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 19 | 65 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1969 | Unnamed 1969 stormOct 1 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | HildaOct 5 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1959 | IreneOct 8 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1957 | DebbieSep 8 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | FlossySep 24 | 8 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1953 | FlorenceSep 26 | 26 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1953 | AliceJun 6 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormJul 9 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 13 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormJun 16 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormSep 20 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormAug 31 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJul 31 | overhead | Category 2 (101 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormOct 6 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 1 | 52 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 20 | 25 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormJul 4 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1917 | Unnamed 1917 stormSep 29 | 3 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 46 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 73 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1914 | Unnamed 1914 stormSep 18 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 11 | 41 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 28 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 28 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 12 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormNov 3 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 14 | 51 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 10 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 17 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormAug 2 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 7 | 8 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 9 | 52 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormAug 7 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 27 | 2 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 28 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 21 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormAug 30 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 7 mi | Category 3 (122 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 31 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 10 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 3 | 72 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormSep 19 | 3 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 27 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1868 | Unnamed 1868 stormOct 4 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 31 | 46 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 23 | 58 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fort Walton 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 Fort Walton Beach
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s10
- 2000s16
- 1990s26
- 1980s16
- 1970s27
- 1960s14(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 25, 1964 | F3 | 3 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Oct 4, 1995 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.8 mi | 1 / 3 |
| May 26, 1973 | F2 | 22 mi | 105.4 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Dec 10, 1967 | F2 | 2 mi | 6.8 mi | 1 / 50 |
| Jan 5, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Jan 22, 2023 | EF2 | 18 mi | 0.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 1, 1996 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1989 | F2 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 7, 1974 | F2 | 5 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1971 | F2 | 3 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1971 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 21, 1969 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Walton Beach
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Walton Beach since 1962, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 15 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 5 days, most recently August 29, 2000. The most recent report is from May 6, 2022. July has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Walton Beach
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Destin Fort Walton Airport, FL, 9 miles east of Fort Walton Beach at 22 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 76°F; January is the coolest, at 63°F and 45°F. August is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 55.4 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 52% of the year's precipitation (28.7 of 55.4 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 75 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (24); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 5.2 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 50 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 6 nights a year. That 55.4 inches is more than at 72 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (58%). Hurlburt Field, 3 miles northwest, has its own station (Niceville, FL): 73.6 inches a year, 18.2 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 63 | 45 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Feb | 66 | 48 | 5.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 71 | 54 | 4.7 | 5 |
| Apr | 76 | 60 | 4.6 | 4 |
| May | 84 | 68 | 3.2 | 4 |
| Jun | 89 | 74 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Jul | 91 | 76 | 5.8 | 7 |
| Aug | 91 | 76 | 6.1 | 8 |
| Sep | 89 | 72 | 5.2 | 5 |
| Oct | 81 | 63 | 2.8 | 4 |
| Nov | 72 | 53 | 4.1 | 4 |
| Dec | 66 | 48 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Year | 78 | 61 | 55.4 | 65 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Destin Fort Walton Airport, FL (22 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 Fort Walton Beach
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 119 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Walton Beach: 87 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 25, and the NWS estimated $5.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on February 21, 2003. Of the 277 Florida cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 235 have had fewer than Fort Walton Beach.
August 5, 2016: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Fort Walton Beach — 1 killed.
August 12, 2015: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Fort Walton Beach — 20 injured.
February 22, 2010: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Fort Walton Beach — 4 injured.
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 Fort Walton Beach's 2 ZIP codes have filed 2,742 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $110.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Opal in 1995: 924 claims (34% of all) and $44.3 million, then Hurricane Ivan in 2004 with 854 and Mid-spring storms in 2014 with 163. 91% 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, 299 have fewer than Fort Walton Beach.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Opal1995 | 924 | $44.3 million |
| Hurricane Ivan2004 | 854 | $45.8 million |
| Mid-spring storms2014 | 163 | $5.7 million |
| Hurricane Georges (Panhandle)1998 | 162 | $1.2 million |
| Hurricane Dennis2005 | 124 | $3.6 million |
| Hurricane Sally2020 | 106 | $4.4 million |
Okaloosa County, which includes Fort Walton Beach, has been named in 42 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1970, 28 of them major disasters (by incident: 24 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Okaloosa County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, coastal flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $134.5 million a year, the 21st highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $87.2 million (65%), 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).
Fort Walton Beach in the notable storm records: Hurricane Michael (2018)
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Fort Walton Beach
- Hurlburt Field, FL3 mi
- Shalimar, FL3 mi
- Eglin Afb, FL4 mi
- Mary Esther, FL6 mi
- Valparaiso, FL9 mi
- Niceville, FL11 mi
- Destin, FL12 mi
- Miramar Beach, FL16 mi
- Navarre, FL16 mi
- Crestview, FL23 mi
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL26 mi
- Freeport, FL27 mi
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