Hurricane Facts and Dates
JUNE
1: The first day of hurricane season
1: The first season to use male and female hurricane names begins (1979)
1: The first season to use the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity begins (1973)
1: The first season to use female hurricane names begins (1953)
19: Hurricane Agnes parallels the Florida west coast before making landfall in the panhandle. Agnes later went
on to dump tremendous rainfall in the northeast (1972) – storm name retired
JULY
10: Hurricane Dennis makes landfall near Pensacola in the Florida panhandle (2005) – storm name retired
26: The first intentional flight into a hurricane to take storm measurements occurs – The Surprise Hurricane
(1943)
AUGUST
13: Hurricane Charley makes landfall in Charlotte County (2004) – storm name retired
23: Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in South Florida on its way to becoming the most destructive hurricane in
United States history (2005) – storm name retired
24: Hurricane Andrew makes landfall south of Miami as one of only three category five storms (‘Labor Day’ –
1935, Camille – 1969) to make United States landfall in the 20th century–(1992) – storm name retired
25: Tropical Storm Barry makes landfall in Melbourne and crosses the state during the least active tropical
season ever recorded (1983)
27: Hurricane Cleo makes landfall in the Miami area (1964) – storm name retired
31: Hurricane Elena stalled while moving toward the Florida west coast. The storm remained approximately
100 miles off the Pinellas County coastline, necessitating mandatory evacuations. Ultimately, the storm
turned north, making landfall in Mississippi (1985) – storm name retired
SEPTEMBER
1: The halfway point of hurricane season
3: Hurricane David makes landfall near West Palm Beach (1979) – storm name retired
4: Hurricane Frances makes landfall near Port St. Lucie (2004) – storm name retired
6: Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall near Clearwater (2003)
7: Hurricane Betsy made landfall near Key Largo on its way to its final landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana
(1965) – storm name retired
10: Statistically the most active day of hurricane season
10: Hurricane Donna makes landfall in the Florida Keys and southwest Florida near Fort Myers (1960) – storm
name retired
10: Hurricane Dora makes landfall near St. Augustine (1964) – storm name retired
10: Hurricane Ike plows ashore near Galveston, Texas, becoming the third most destructive storm in American
history. (2008) – storm name retired.
16: Hurricane Ivan makes landfall in coastal Alabama, bringing storm surge, high winds and heavy rain to the
Florida Panhandle (2004) – storm name retired
16: The Lake Okeechobee Hurricane makes landfall in West Palm Beach. It is the second deadliest hurricane in
American history (1928)
21: The New England Express makes landfall, becoming one of the most destructive hurricanes in American
history (1938)
23: Hurricane Eloise makes landfall in Panama City, Florida (1975) – storm name retired
25: Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall in approximately the same location Hurricane Frances had hit three weeks
earlier (2004) – storm name retired
25: A major hurricane, estimated as a category 4, makes landfall in the Tampa Bay area. This storm cut John’s
Pass. (1848)
26: Hurricane Georges skirts the Florida west coast (1998)
OCTOBER
4: Hurricane Flora, the fifth deadliest hurricane in Atlantic history, ravages the Caribbean (1963) – storm name
retired
4: Hurricane Opal makes landfall in Santa Rosa Island in the Florida Panhandle (1995) – storm name retired
9: Tropical Storm Hazel crosses the Florida peninsula north of Fort Myers (1953)
16: The first Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) was launched into orbit, providing the
first ever 24-hour weather observations of the entire Western Hemisphere. (1975)
19: Hurricane Gladys makes landfall in Homosassa with winds of 80 mph (1968)
23: Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in Cape Romaine, Florida. At one time, Wilma was the most intense storm
ever measured in the Western Hemisphere (2005) – storm name retired
25: The Tampa Bay Hurricane plowed ashore just south of Tarpon Springs, bringing a 10 to 12 foot storm surge
to Tampa Bay. This was the last hurricane to make landfall in Pinellas County, and the last time sustained
hurricane force winds were measured in the county. (1921)
29: Hurricane Sandy plows ashore just south of Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the second most damaging
storm in American history (2012)
NOVEMBER
23: Tropical Storm Keith makes landfall in Sarasota (1988)
30: The last day of Hurricane Season
30: The second busiest hurricane season draws to a close (1933)
DECEMBER
31: The busiest hurricane season on record (2005) ends, although the last storm of the season (Zeta) This storm
dissipated on January 6, 2006.