NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Freeport, 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
72 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Freeport, Florida since 1851, 29 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Fred in 2021. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 29
- Tropical storms
- 43
- Tornadoes
- 122
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Freeport
The strongest storm to pass near Freeport was Michael in 2018, a Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph winds when its centre passed 50 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Flossy in 1956, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Freeport begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Fred in 2021, a tropical storm 46 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 8 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 72 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Freeport has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 67% of the 407 Florida cities on this site. The highest rating among the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on December 10, 1967, came within 8 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on December 10, 1967, killed 1 person. Of the 122, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 10, 2025. Freeport has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 407 Florida cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 16 times since 1972, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Of the 407 Florida cities, 83% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Freeport.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Freeport
Of the 72 tracks on the map, 32 were moving northeast as they passed Freeport, 17 north and 12 northwest. Michael (2018), the strongest pass, was heading northeast and came ashore 52 miles southeast of Freeport. Within 75 miles of Freeport, 54 of the 72 came ashore, 26 of them as hurricanes. In the last 30 seasons (1996–2025), 12 came near Freeport: 4.0 a decade, against 4.1 a decade from 1851 to 1995.
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | FredAug 16 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2020 | SallySep 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 19 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 10 | 50 mi | Category 4 (155 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2018 | AlbertoMay 28 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2009 | ClaudetteAug 17 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | FayAug 23 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | DennisJul 10 | 54 mi | Category 3 (123 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2001 | BarryAug 6 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2000 | HeleneSep 22 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1998 | EarlSep 3 | 38 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1997 | DannyJul 20 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1995 | OpalOct 4 | 48 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1995 | ErinAug 3 | 50 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1994 | BerylAug 16 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1994 | AlbertoJul 3 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | KateNov 21 | 57 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1985 | ElenaSep 2 | 69 mi | Category 3 (124 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 7 mi | Category 3 (124 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1972 | AgnesJun 19 | 43 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1970 | BeckyJul 22 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | Unnamed 1969 stormOct 1 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | HildaOct 5 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1957 | DebbieSep 8 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1956 | FlossySep 25 | overhead | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1953 | FlorenceSep 26 | overhead | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1953 | AliceJun 6 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormJul 9 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1939 | Unnamed 1939 stormAug 13 | 13 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormSep 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormAug 31 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormJul 31 | 26 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1934 | Unnamed 1934 stormOct 6 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 1 | 34 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 14 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormSep 20 | 45 mi | Category 3 (122 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1924 | Unnamed 1924 stormSep 15 | 72 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormJul 4 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1917 | Unnamed 1917 stormSep 29 | 14 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormOct 18 | 72 mi | Category 2 (102 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 47 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1914 | Unnamed 1914 stormSep 18 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 11 | 63 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormJun 28 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 12 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormNov 3 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 14 | 24 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 10 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 17 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormAug 2 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormAug 3 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 7 | 11 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 9 | 39 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 19 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 27 | 20 mi | Category 1 (82 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 28 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormSep 21 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormAug 30 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 25 mi | Category 3 (110 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormAug 31 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 16 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 10 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 3 | 52 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormSep 19 | 3 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1875 | Unnamed 1875 stormSep 27 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1868 | Unnamed 1868 stormOct 4 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 12 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 31 | 25 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 23 | 38 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 Freeport: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Check hail and hurricane history for any address
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Freeport
By decade
- 2020s29
- 2010s7
- 2000s15
- 1990s20
- 1980s20
- 1970s19
- 1960s11(2 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 10, 1967 | F3 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 25, 1964 | F3 | 15 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Dec 10, 1967 | F2 | 21 mi | 6.8 mi | 1 / 50 |
| Jan 22, 2023 | EF2 | 9 mi | 0.78 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 2021 | EF2 | 23 mi | 0.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 1, 1996 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 1989 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1971 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1963 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1963 | F2 | 18 mi | 61 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 5, 1962 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1953 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 22 |
The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Freeport
The Storm Prediction Center has 16 hail reports within 10 miles of Freeport since 1972, made on 13 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on March 29, 1972. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. March and July have the most reports, 4 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Freeport
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is De Funiak Springs 1 E, FL, 17 miles north of Freeport at 245 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 62°F and 40°F. July is the wettest at 7.5 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.6 inches; the year adds up to 64.7 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 55% of the year's precipitation (35.6 of 64.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 72 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (23); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 6.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 85 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 26 nights a year. That 64.7 inches is more than at 111 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (89%). Santa Rosa Beach, 8 miles south, has its own station (Destin Fort Walton Airport, FL): 55.4 inches a year, 9.3 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 62 | 40 | 5.0 | 6 |
| Feb | 66 | 43 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Mar | 73 | 48 | 5.2 | 6 |
| Apr | 79 | 54 | 4.3 | 5 |
| May | 86 | 63 | 4.0 | 5 |
| Jun | 90 | 70 | 7.1 | 9 |
| Jul | 92 | 72 | 7.5 | 10 |
| Aug | 91 | 72 | 7.0 | 11 |
| Sep | 88 | 67 | 6.0 | 7 |
| Oct | 81 | 57 | 3.6 | 4 |
| Nov | 71 | 47 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 64 | 42 | 5.5 | 6 |
| Year | 79 | 56 | 64.7 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at De Funiak Springs 1 E, FL (245 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 Freeport
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 109 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Freeport: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events, 6 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $826,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on May 10, 2024. September has had the most flash floods, 8 of 20. Of the 277 Florida cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 224 have had fewer than Freeport.
August 21, 2010: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Freeport — 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
April 29, 2004: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Freeport — $200,000 damage.
March 23, 2022: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Freeport — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “A lightning strike resulted in a house fire.”
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 Freeport's ZIP code 32439 have filed 335 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $5.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ivan in 2004: 92 claims (27% of all) and $2.4 million, then Hurricane Opal in 1995 with 84 and Hurricane Sally in 2020 with 57. 88% 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, 178 have fewer than Freeport.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ivan2004 | 92 | $2.4 million |
| Hurricane Opal1995 | 84 | $1.1 million |
| Hurricane Sally2020 | 57 | $1.2 million |
| Hurricane Georges (Panhandle)1998 | 29 | $476,000 |
Walton County, which includes Freeport, has been named in 43 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1975, 25 of them major disasters (by incident: 22 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 5 fires, 4 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Walton County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and coastal flooding; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $68.4 million a year, the 33rd highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $47.3 million (69%), 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 Freeport
- Santa Rosa Beach, FL8 mi
- Miramar Beach, FL13 mi
- Defuniak Springs, FL16 mi
- Niceville, FL17 mi
- Destin, FL17 mi
- Ponce De Leon, FL17 mi
- Valparaiso, FL20 mi
- Inlet Beach, FL21 mi
- Vernon, FL21 mi
- Eglin Afb, FL23 mi
- Shalimar, FL24 mi
- Fort Walton Beach, FL27 mi
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