Florida Storm Landfall Tracker

When a storm is headed for Florida, the first thing most people want to know is whether their county is under a watch or a warning, and the second is where it actually came ashore once it passed, so this page keeps both in one place, with the current storm at the top and each storm moving into the archive below once it’s over. Every watch, warning and landfall here comes from the National Hurricane Center’s own advisories, and we note the time of the advisory each update is based on.

Is A Storm Headed For Florida Right Now?

Tropical Storm Isaias, October 2026 - forecast to reach the northern Gulf Coast Friday

Based on the National Hurricane Center’s 2 PM Eastern advisory, Wednesday, October 7, 2026.

Isaias formed in the southern Gulf on Wednesday and, as of the 2 PM advisory, had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving east-northeast. The Hurricane Center expects rapid strengthening, with Isaias becoming a hurricane by Thursday and approaching the northern Gulf Coast on Friday, and hurricane conditions are possible in the hurricane watch area by late Friday.

Which Florida Counties Are Under A Hurricane Watch For Isaias?

• Hurricane watch - Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to Indian Pass, Florida, which covers Florida’s coastal counties from the Alabama line east through Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay and Gulf.
• Tropical storm watch - east of Indian Pass to the Aucilla River, covering coastal Franklin, Wakulla and Jefferson counties.
• Storm surge watch - the mouth of the Mississippi River to Yankeetown, Florida, which takes in the whole Panhandle coast plus Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties in the Big Bend.

The Hurricane Center’s peak surge estimates if it arrives at high tide are 5 to 7 feet from Ocean Springs, Mississippi to Indian Pass, 3 to 5 feet from Indian Pass to the Aucilla River, and 2 to 4 feet from the Aucilla River to Yankeetown, with 3 to 6 inches of rain and localized totals up to 10 inches from far southeastern Louisiana across the Florida Panhandle.

What Does Isaias Mean For Home And Flood Insurance?

Several insurance companies have already stopped writing new policies and increasing coverage in the Panhandle counties under the watch, which is normal as a storm approaches, so if you’re in that area the coverage you have now is almost certainly the coverage you’ll have when Isaias arrives. Florida law starts the hurricane deductible period when the Hurricane Center issues a hurricane warning for any part of Florida (Fla. Stat. 627.4025), and as of this advisory only watches are up, so that window hasn’t started yet.

Latest advisories from the National Hurricane Center

Where Have Major Hurricanes Made Landfall In Florida?

Going back to 1851, when the official hurricane record begins, Florida has taken 45 major hurricane landfalls, meaning Category 3 or stronger at the moment the center came ashore, and that count includes the handful of storms that hit Florida twice, like Donna in 1960 and Irma in 2017, which crossed the Keys and then came ashore again on the southwest coast. Only three of them came ashore at Category 5 strength, the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935, Andrew in 1992 and Michael in 2018, and the map below shows every one, with the number in each dot being the category at landfall.

Landfall points, categories and winds come from NOAA’s official Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2), and dates are in Florida time. Storms weren’t given names until 1950, so earlier ones are listed as unnamed unless they’re widely known by a nickname. Where several storms struck the same spot, their dots are nudged slightly apart so each one shows.

Which Florida Counties Have Been Hit By A Hurricane?

The map only shows the major hurricanes, so here are the other 84 hurricane landfalls in Florida’s official record since 1851, the Category 1 and Category 2 storms, with the region and county where each one’s center came ashore, and between this list and the one above, that’s every hurricane landfall NOAA has on record for Florida. Keep in mind a hurricane’s winds, rain and storm surge reach far beyond the spot where the center crosses the coast, so a county that isn’t listed here has still seen hurricane conditions plenty of times.

Counties come from NOAA’s landfall coordinates, which are rounded to the nearest tenth of a degree and can be off by a few miles, so where a landfall point sits that close to a county line we name both counties. Where a specific place is named, like Siesta Key for Milton or Cayo Costa for Charley and Ian, it comes straight from the National Hurricane Center’s own report on that storm.

Can I Buy Home Or Flood Insurance When A Storm Is Coming?

Usually not in the counties it threatens, because insurance companies stop writing new home insurance and flood policies once watches and warnings go up, and the timing varies by company, so the time to review your homeowners insurance and your flood policy is before a storm shows up on the map. We explain how the forecasts work, and how far ahead they can tell where a storm will hit, in What Are The Spaghetti Models?

Written by Brian Lough, owner of The Insurance Man and Company in Sarasota, Florida. Licensed Florida insurance agent, license #P034754, with over 20 years in the business.

Last reviewed October 7, 2026

Related reading

• What are the spaghetti models?
• FL home insurance claims tips
• Wind mitigation inspection in Florida
• Florida homeowners insurance
• All guides and news

If a storm is on the way and you’re not sure what your policy covers or what your hurricane deductible is, give us a call.

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The Insurance Man and Company, Inc.
62 Sarasota Center Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34240
(941) 312-5771
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The Insurance Man and Company is licensed to write insurance anywhere in Florida.