NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Key West, 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
74 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Key West, Florida since 1851, 39 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ian in 2022. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 39
- Tropical storms
- 35
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Key West
The strongest storm to pass near Key West was an unnamed storm in 1935, a Category 5 hurricane with 184 mph winds when its centre passed 55 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Floyd in 1987, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Key West begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Ian in 2022, a Category 3 hurricane 72 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 9 systems, one of them at hurricane strength. Of the 74 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Key West has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 90% of the 407 Florida cities on this site. The highest rating among the 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1980, came within 22 miles. Of the 35, 17 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on October 8, 2024. Of the 407 Florida cities, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Key West. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 2003, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 407 Florida cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Key West.
Compare Key West's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Key West
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | IanSep 28 | 72 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2021 | ElsaJul 6 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2020 | EtaNov 9 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | SallySep 12 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 2018 | GordonSep 3 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2017 | IrmaSep 10 | 16 mi | Category 4 (132 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2012 | IsaacAug 26 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2008 | FayAug 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | WilmaOct 24 | 73 mi | Category 3 (124 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 20 | 43 mi | Category 2 (101 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2005 | KatrinaAug 26 | 40 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 13 | 66 mi | Category 3 (117 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1999 | IreneOct 15 | 6 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1998 | GeorgesSep 25 | 5 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1994 | GordonNov 15 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1992 | AndrewAug 24 | 75 mi | Category 4 (132 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1991 | FabianOct 16 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1990 | MarcoOct 10 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1987 | FloydOct 12 | overhead | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1981 | DennisAug 16 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1976 | DottieAug 19 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1970 | GretaSep 27 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1969 | JennyOct 2 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1966 | InezOct 5 | 2 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1966 | Unnamed 1966 stormJun 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1966 | AlmaJun 8 | 60 mi | Category 3 (114 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1965 | BetsySep 8 | 41 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1964 | IsbellOct 14 | 34 mi | Category 3 (110 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 10 | 53 mi | Category 4 (139 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1952 | Unnamed 1952 stormFeb 3 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1950 | EasySep 3 | 46 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormOct 5 | 21 mi | Category 2 (108 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1948 | Unnamed 1948 stormSep 21 | 9 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormOct 11 | 34 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 4 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 18 | 70 mi | Category 3 (119 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormNov 5 | 74 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1935 | Unnamed 1935 stormSep 3 | 55 mi | Category 5 (184 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1933 | Unnamed 1933 stormOct 5 | 45 mi | Category 2 (107 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormSep 28 | 54 mi | Category 2 (106 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormAug 13 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormOct 20 | 38 mi | Category 4 (130 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1919 | Unnamed 1919 stormSep 9 | 24 mi | Category 4 (147 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormNov 15 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1910 | Unnamed 1910 stormOct 17 | 54 mi | Category 3 (127 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormOct 11 | 15 mi | Category 3 (117 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormOct 18 | 31 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormJun 16 | 29 mi | Category 1 (79 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1904 | Unnamed 1904 stormOct 20 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 5 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormJul 30 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 23 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 11 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 10 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormOct 16 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1895 | Unnamed 1895 stormOct 1 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormSep 25 | 15 mi | Category 1 (81 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormJun 10 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormOct 7 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormOct 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 23 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormAug 18 | 47 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 17 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormOct 21 | 47 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 7 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (66 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1876 | Unnamed 1876 stormOct 19 | 11 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormJun 1 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1870 | Unnamed 1870 stormOct 20 | 61 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1870 | Unnamed 1870 stormOct 9 | 33 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormOct 23 | 2 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormNov 1 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1861 | Unnamed 1861 stormAug 16 | 29 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 22 | 32 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Key West: 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 Key West
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s2
- 2000s8
- 1990s4
- 1980s8
- 1970s4
- 1960s2
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1980 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Jun 18, 1972 | F2 | 3 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1972 | F2 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 40 |
| Jun 2, 1966 | F2 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 8, 2024 | EF1 | 3 mi | 0.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1983 | F1 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 1982 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 1972 | F1 | 7 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1963 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 1957 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1953 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 2024 | EF0 | 24 mi | 0.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Key West
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Key West, all from April 27, 2003. Of these, 4 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest was 1.75 inches (golf ball size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Key West
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Key West International Airport, FL, in Key West at 4 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 81°F; January is the coolest, at 76°F and 66°F. September is the wettest at 7.2 inches of precipitation on average and February and March the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 40.4 inches over 62 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 70% of the year's precipitation (28.2 of 40.4 inches); the other six months are drier. October has brought the most of the 74 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (28); a normal October there has highs of 86°F and 5.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 56 days a year, almost all from June to October. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 40.4 inches is more than at 2 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (2%). Summerland Key, 18 miles east, has its own station (Key West NAS, FL): 43.6 inches a year, 3.2 more than here, and an August average high of 90°F against 91°F.
Sea level at the Key West tide gauge, 3 miles from Key West, has risen 1.04 ± 0.03 inches per decade from 1913 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 10.4 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 58 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 76 | 66 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Feb | 77 | 67 | 1.5 | 2 |
| Mar | 80 | 69 | 1.5 | 3 |
| Apr | 83 | 73 | 2.1 | 3 |
| May | 86 | 76 | 3.1 | 4 |
| Jun | 89 | 79 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Jul | 90 | 81 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 91 | 81 | 5.4 | 9 |
| Sep | 89 | 79 | 7.2 | 10 |
| Oct | 86 | 77 | 5.7 | 8 |
| Nov | 81 | 72 | 2.1 | 3 |
| Dec | 78 | 68 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Year | 84 | 74 | 40.4 | 62 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Key West International Airport, FL (4 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 Key West
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Key West: 17 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $97,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 69 mph, on April 9, 1996.
July 25, 2009: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Key West — 1 injured.
NWS: “Lightning struck a palm tree near the entrance to White Street Pier in Key West. The bolt passed from the tree to a 19-year-old male.”
June 26, 2013: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Key West — 1 injured.
NWS: “A police officer was injured when his motorcycle was struck, possibly indirectly, by lightning. It was unknown whether the original lightning strike was to a utility pole or directly to the right-hand handlebar of the motorcycle.”
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 Key West's ZIP code 33040 have filed 8,242 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $272.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Wilma in 2005: 4,054 claims (49% of all) and $208.8 million, then Hurricane Georges (Keys) in 1998 with 1,463 and Hurricane Irma in 2017 with 1,097. 92% 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, 331 have fewer than Key West.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Wilma2005 | 4,054 | $208.8 million |
| Hurricane Georges (Keys)1998 | 1,463 | $4.9 million |
| Hurricane Irma2017 | 1,097 | $18.6 million |
| Hurricane Ian2022 | 442 | $26.1 million |
| Flooding1980 | 257 | $501,000 |
| Hurricane Irene1999 | 105 | $575,000 |
Monroe County, which includes Key West, has been named in 47 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 26 hurricanes, 6 severe storms, 4 fires, 3 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Milton, on October 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Monroe County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for coastal flooding; Relatively High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for tornadoes and hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $93.3 million a year, the 31st highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $65.1 million (70%), 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).
Key West in the notable storm records: Hurricane Irma (2017) · Hurricane Rita (2005) · Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane (1935)
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Key West
- Summerland Key, FL18 mi
- Big Pine Key, FL27 mi
- Marathon, FL47 mi
- Islamorada, FL74 mi
- Tavernier, FL83 mi
- Key Largo, FL93 mi
- Marco Island, FL95 mi
- Florida City, FL98 mi
- Homestead, FL105 mi
- Cutler Bay, FL112 mi
- Naples, FL112 mi
- Palmetto Bay, FL117 mi
All Florida cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Key West with another place →