NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Palatka, 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 Palatka, Florida since 1851, 19 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Eta in 2020. Since 1950, 96 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 19
- Tropical storms
- 60
- Tornadoes
- 96
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Palatka
The strongest storm to pass near Palatka was an unnamed storm in 1893, a Category 3 hurricane with 121 mph winds when its centre passed 61 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Gladys in 1968, whose centre came within 10 miles. The record near Palatka begins with an unnamed storm in 1853; the most recent system was Eta in 2020, a tropical storm 39 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1880s, with 9 systems, 2 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 79 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Of the 407 Florida cities on this site, 78% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Palatka. The strongest of the 96 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on February 7, 1971; its path came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F0 on February 2, 1996, killed 1 person. Of the 96, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 36 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 17. The most recent tornado was on July 20, 2024. Of the 407 Florida cities, 73% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Palatka. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Palatka has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 407 Florida cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Palatka
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | EtaNov 12 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2017 | IrmaSep 11 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2016 | MatthewOct 7 | 58 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2016 | JuliaSep 13 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2016 | ColinJun 7 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2013 | AndreaJun 7 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2012 | BerylMay 28 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | FayAug 22 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2005 | TammyOct 5 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2004 | JeanneSep 27 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2004 | CharleyAug 14 | 40 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2002 | EdouardSep 5 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1988 | ChrisAug 28 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | IsabelOct 10 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1985 | BobJul 24 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1984 | IsidoreSep 28 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1982 | Unnamed 1982 stormJun 18 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1981 | DennisAug 19 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1979 | DavidSep 4 | 49 mi | Category 2 (98 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1972 | AlphaMay 28 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1968 | GladysOct 19 | 10 mi | Category 1 (85 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1968 | BrendaJun 20 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1968 | AbbyJun 6 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormOct 18 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | DoraSep 10 | 19 mi | Category 2 (96 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1964 | CleoAug 28 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1960 | DonnaSep 11 | 36 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1959 | Unnamed 1959 stormJun 18 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1956 | Unnamed 1956 stormOct 16 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1950 | KingOct 18 | 27 mi | Category 1 (77 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1950 | EasySep 7 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 27 | 70 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 24 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1946 | Unnamed 1946 stormOct 8 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormSep 17 | 11 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1945 | Unnamed 1945 stormJun 24 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1944 | Unnamed 1944 stormOct 19 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormOct 21 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormAug 30 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1937 | Unnamed 1937 stormJul 30 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1936 | Unnamed 1936 stormAug 22 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1930 | Unnamed 1930 stormSep 10 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1928 | Unnamed 1928 stormSep 18 | 12 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormJul 28 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (68 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1921 | Unnamed 1921 stormOct 26 | 59 mi | Category 1 (83 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 30 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1916 | Unnamed 1916 stormMay 15 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1914 | Unnamed 1914 stormSep 17 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (69 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1910 | Unnamed 1910 stormOct 19 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1909 | Unnamed 1909 stormAug 31 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1906 | Unnamed 1906 stormOct 21 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormOct 12 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1899 | Unnamed 1899 stormOct 5 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1897 | Unnamed 1897 stormSep 21 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormSep 29 | 62 mi | Category 3 (112 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormSep 26 | 30 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 13 | 61 mi | Category 3 (121 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormAug 27 | 64 mi | Category 3 (115 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormJun 17 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormOct 11 | 30 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormSep 9 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormOct 30 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJul 19 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormOct 1 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1885 | Unnamed 1885 stormAug 24 | 60 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormOct 8 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (72 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1880 | Unnamed 1880 stormSep 8 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormOct 27 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1878 | Unnamed 1878 stormSep 10 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 27 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1874 | Unnamed 1874 stormSep 28 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (70 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1873 | Unnamed 1873 stormSep 23 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormSep 6 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 25 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 18 | 43 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1867 | Unnamed 1867 stormOct 7 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1858 | Unnamed 1858 stormSep 15 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1853 | Unnamed 1853 stormOct 20 | 73 mi | Category 2 (104 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Palatka: 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 Palatka
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s10
- 2000s18
- 1990s16
- 1980s15
- 1970s20(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 7, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1977 | F2 | 2 mi | 9.4 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Mar 29, 2001 | F2 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 24, 1995 | F2 | in town | 10 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Feb 27, 1984 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 4, 1973 | F2 | in town | 39 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jan 22, 1972 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 22, 1967 | F2 | 1 mi | 17.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 9, 1961 | F2 | 17 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 4, 1960 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 2024 | EF1 | 17 mi | 6.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 12, 2022 | EF1 | 22 mi | 5.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Palatka
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Palatka since 1974, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 19 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 17, 2012. The most recent report is from June 18, 2020. June has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Palatka
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Federal Pt, FL, 10 miles northeast of Palatka at 5 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 65°F and 47°F. June is the wettest at 7.8 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 51.5 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 67% of the year's precipitation (34.7 of 51.5 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 86°F and 7.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 76 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 3 nights a year. That 51.5 inches is more than at 29 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (23%). Satsuma, 8 miles south, has its own station (Crescent City, FL): 49.9 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 91°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65 | 47 | 2.9 | 4 |
| Feb | 68 | 50 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 74 | 54 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 80 | 59 | 2.5 | 3 |
| May | 85 | 65 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Jun | 88 | 71 | 7.8 | 10 |
| Jul | 90 | 73 | 6.4 | 10 |
| Aug | 89 | 73 | 6.7 | 11 |
| Sep | 86 | 71 | 7.3 | 9 |
| Oct | 80 | 65 | 4.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 73 | 57 | 2.0 | 3 |
| Dec | 67 | 51 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Year | 79 | 61 | 51.5 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Federal Pt, FL (5 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 Palatka
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 198 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Palatka: 159 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 heavy rain events, 13 floods, 6 lightning strikes and 1 flash flood. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $268,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 3, 1998.
September 26, 2023: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Palatka — 1 killed, 1 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 Palatka's ZIP code 32177 have filed 90 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $1.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Matthew in 2016: 37 claims (41% of all) and $707,000, then Hurricane Irma in 2017 with 28. 96% 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, 102 have fewer than Palatka.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Matthew2016 | 37 | $707,000 |
| Hurricane Irma2017 | 28 | $502,000 |
Putnam County, which includes Palatka, has been named in 41 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 19 hurricanes, 7 severe storms, 5 fires, 4 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Milton, on October 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Putnam County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes and lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for coastal flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.4 million a year, the 39th highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.3 million (42%), is from inland flooding.
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 Palatka
- East Palatka, FL5 mi
- Satsuma, FL8 mi
- Ponte Vedra, FL12 mi
- Hastings, FL13 mi
- Interlachen, FL13 mi
- Pomona Park, FL13 mi
- Elkton, FL16 mi
- Crescent City, FL18 mi
- Melrose, FL21 mi
- Fort Mc Coy, FL21 mi
- Green Cove Springs, FL21 mi
- Keystone Heights, FL22 mi
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