No active hurricanes threatening Tallahassee right now

Could the next one hit soon? 186 hurricanes have impacted the Tallahassee area since 1851 — set up free alerts so you'll have time to prepare when one's on the way.

186
Hurricanes affecting Tallahassee area
2024
Most recent
160 kt
Strongest peak winds
6 mi
Closest approach
Local note: Tallahassee’s inland location on the Florida Panhandle puts it above coastal surge but makes it highly susceptible to extreme wind and heavy inland rainfall—Cat 4 Hurricane Idalia (2023) produced damaging winds and widespread freshwater flooding across the Tallahassee area.

Coverage on this page applies broadly to the Tallahassee area — including Woodville, Midway, Lloyd, Havana, Wacissa, Saint Marks, Crawfordville, Lamont. Tropical storms rarely respect city limits.

When do hurricanes typically threaten the Tallahassee area?

Distribution of 186 hurricanes that have come within 150 mi of Tallahassee, by month of closest approach.

J
F
M
A
6 M
25 J
18 J
36 A
57 S
37 O
7 N
D

Recent notable storms affecting the Tallahassee area

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach
2024 HELENE Cat 4 120 kt 45 mi
2024 DEBBY Cat 1 70 kt 63 mi
2023 IDALIA Cat 4 115 kt 54 mi
2022 NICOLE Cat 1 65 kt 28 mi
2021 ELSA Cat 1 75 kt 52 mi
2020 ETA Cat 4 130 kt 117 mi
2020 SALLY Cat 2 95 kt 159 mi
2019 BARRY Cat 1 65 kt 190 mi
2018 MICHAEL Cat 5 140 kt 70 mi
2017 IRMA Cat 5 155 kt 56 mi
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 18 mi
2009 IDA Cat 2 90 kt 78 mi
2008 PALOMA Cat 4 125 kt 133 mi
Hurricane-strength storms (Cat 1+) since 2008 that came within 200 miles of Tallahassee. Includes storms whose center stayed offshore or hit nearby cities — wind, surge, and rainfall impacts extend far beyond the storm's path.

All-time closest approaches to Tallahassee

Year Name Peak Cat Peak Winds Closest Approach Date of Closest
1871 UNNAMED Cat 3 100 kt 6 mi Aug 26, 1871
1886 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 9 mi Jul 01, 1886
1964 DORA Cat 4 115 kt 9 mi Sep 11, 1964
1998 GEORGES Cat 4 135 kt 12 mi Sep 30, 1998
1909 UNNAMED TS 45 kt 14 mi Jul 01, 1909
1966 ALMA Cat 3 100 kt 16 mi Jun 10, 1966
1924 UNNAMED Cat 1 75 kt 16 mi Sep 16, 1924
1885 UNNAMED Cat 1 70 kt 18 mi Sep 30, 1885
1886 UNNAMED Cat 2 85 kt 18 mi Jun 21, 1886
2016 HERMINE Cat 1 70 kt 18 mi Sep 02, 2016
Showing the 10 closest of 186 total storms within 150 mi of Tallahassee since 1851.

If a hurricane threatens Tallahassee

  1. Know your evacuation zone. Look up yours by address via your state or county emergency management office (Leon County and surrounding areas).
  2. Set up alerts ahead of time. During an active storm, watches and warnings change every six hours. Email or text alerts from TropicalInfo give you the official NHC update the moment it's posted, with a plain-language summary.
  3. Prep your supplies before the storm is named. Stores empty out within hours of a watch. The 72-hour rule: water, food, batteries, fuel, medications, important documents. Our alerts can notify you of a storm long before it makes the news — giving you more time to get what you need before the panic-buying starts.
  4. Follow the cone, not the line. The forecast track is a best estimate — the cone shows where the center is likely to go. Impacts extend hundreds of miles from the center.

Set up free location-based alerts for Tallahassee

Historical data: NOAA HURDAT2 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific hurricane databases. Closest-approach calculated using great-circle distance between Tallahassee (30.4286°N, 84.2593°W) and each 6-hourly observation. Storms are included if their center passed within 150 mi of Tallahassee — impacts (wind, surge, rainfall) routinely extend much further.