Orlando Hurricane History: Charley, Irma, Ian and Milton

In NWS Melbourne and National Hurricane Center reports, Charley's 91 knot gust at Orlando International Airport in 2004 is the highest, while Irma, Ian and Milton each left more than 13 inches of rain at gauges in or near Orlando (NWS Melbourne, Hurricane Charley).

The table pulls one Orlando measurement per storm from National Weather Service Melbourne and National Hurricane Center reports. Wind figures are in knots, as the reports give them, and come from the airport sensors at Orlando International (MCO) and Orlando Executive (ORL). Rainfall figures are storm totals at named Orange County gauges.

In the NWS Melbourne radar timeline, Charley moved from Orlando International Airport at 8:52 pm to Winter Park at 9:22 pm, while Irma, Ian and Milton each left double-digit rain totals at gauges in or near Orlando, and the Orange County Government updates cited below for Ian and Milton deal with flooding, debris and damage assessment.

Hurricane Charley's eyewall crossed Orlando on the night of Friday, August 13, 2004, and the Orlando International Airport weather station logged a peak gust of 91 knots (NWS Melbourne, Hurricane Charley).

An NWS Melbourne radar timeline places Charley entering Osceola County at 8:01 pm, over Kissimmee at 8:27 pm, at Orlando International Airport at 8:52 pm and Orlando at 9:09 pm, then Winter Park at 9:22 pm and Sanford at 9:56 pm. The NWS Melbourne post tropical cyclone report lists a highest sustained wind of 67 knots at MCO and a peak gust of 74 knots at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL).

The same report warns that the ASOS weather stations at MCO, ORL, Sanford and Daytona Beach failed during the height of the storm and not all data is complete, and that the values listed are the highest found. Automatic Position Reporting System (APRS) stations in Orlando reported peak gusts of 45 and 70 knots. For Orange County, the report lists one young girl killed in a multi-car accident on Highway 528 when a moving van lost control in high winds, widespread damage to houses and cars mostly from fallen trees, and 250,000 residences without power.

NWS Melbourne also published a report on Hurricane Frances, which followed in early September 2004, with a highest sustained wind of 47 knots at Orlando International Airport on September 5, 2004 (NWS Melbourne, Hurricane Frances). The same report lists a 60 knot peak gust and a lowest pressure of 989.4 millibars at Orlando International Airport.

Hurricane Ian dropped 13.20 inches at Orlando International Airport in September 2022, and the gauge listed as Union Park 3.5 SE measured 17.24 inches, the highest Orange County total on the NWS Melbourne list (NWS Melbourne, Ian rainfall totals).

Other Orange County totals on that NWS Melbourne page include 15.39 inches at Union Park 3.1 SE, 14.96 inches at Orlando 5.3 ENE, 13.13 inches at Orlando 12.0 S, 11.76 inches at Bithlo 7.6 S and 10.95 inches at Apopka 0.4 NW. Most are volunteer CoCoRaHS gauges, and the page notes that not all data listed are considered official.

Orange County Government updates show what that rain did. At one update, five roads in Orange County remained closed by flooding, including Rouse Road north of Buck Road, Reams Road, Lake Elleanor Drive and Lake Underhill at the Econ Trail (Orange County Hurricane Ian updates). The Orange County Property Appraiser assessed more than 1,517 properties, and nearly 1,100 had damage with an estimated loss of $188.8M.

Recovery ran for months. A FEMA Disaster Recovery Center opened October 9, 2022 at Barnett Park, 4801 W Colonial Drive, and FEMA extended the deadline for Orange County applicants to January 12, 2023. By January 13, 2023 the county debris contractor had collected roughly 355,000 cubic yards of debris in 7,940 loads. At one update OUC reported just under 7,000 customers without power and Duke Energy 65,000, and Orange County building assessment teams had performed more than 12,000 inspections of homes and buildings.

Hurricane Irma in September 2017 brought Orlando a gust of 69 knots at Orlando International Airport and 17.44 inches of rain at Christmas in Orange County (NWS Melbourne, Hurricane Irma survey).

The NWS Melbourne Irma survey lists the MCO airport station with a minimum pressure of 980.4 millibars, a maximum sustained wind of 51 knots and a peak gust of 69 knots. A WeatherSTEM station at Lake Nona Middle School recorded a 66 knot gust, and one at the University of Central Florida recorded 53 knots.

Rainfall from September 9 to September 12, 2017 reached 17.44 inches at the Christmas spotter site, 13.79 inches at a Union Park CoCoRaHS gauge and 11.80 inches at an Apopka gauge. Union Park gauges rank near the top of the Orange County lists for both storms: 13.79 inches in Irma and 17.24 inches in Ian.

Hurricane Milton on October 9 to 10, 2024 brought Orlando International Airport a 76 knot gust and left 14.83 inches at an NWS Cooperative Observer site near Orlando (NHC Hurricane Milton report).

The National Hurricane Center report lists Orlando Intl. Arpt. (KMCO) with a minimum pressure of 981.4 millibars and a sustained wind of 49 knots. Across east central Florida, NWS Melbourne counts a tornado outbreak of at least 19 confirmed tornadoes and rain totals of 10 to 15 inches and higher on the storm's northern side, leading to localized flooding (NWS Melbourne, Hurricane Milton).

Orange County reported in January 2025 that crews reached substantial completion of storm debris pickup about 60 days after Hurricane Milton; across that effort following back-to-back hurricanes, crews cleared more than 2,300 miles of roadways and removed some 200,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris, enough to fill 61 Olympic-size swimming pools (Orange County, January 21, 2025).

The City of Orlando is running a citywide Floodplain Management Plan Study under the FEMA Community Rating System that could lower flood insurance premiums (City of Orlando Floodplain Management Plan Study).

The city describes the Floodplain Management Plan Study as a citywide strategy of programs, projects and mitigation measures, to be reviewed by regional FEMA officials, that may improve the City of Orlando CRS rating. Credit requires all 10 steps of the FEMA process.

The City of Orlando page was last updated on October 06, 2025 and still says the city is on Step 2 of 10, Involve the Public. The city says a higher score could move Orlando from a Level 6 to a Level 5 rating, which provides an additional 5% discount on flood insurance premiums for properties in Special Flood Hazard Areas. The study is funded by a $126,000 federal grant and a $24,000 City of Orlando match.

Orange County's Ian updates also record follow-on effects of the flooding. The county kept a lake advisory on all lakes and rivers and its boat ramps closed until further notice, and after a spike in the local mosquito population due to Ian flooding, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services supported Orange County Mosquito Control with aerial treatments over Apopka, Bithlo, Christmas, Hunter's Creek, Union Park and Wedgefield (Orange County Hurricane Ian updates). Moss Park campground stayed closed due to flooding, and South Econ Recreation Center served as a shelter.

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the NWS Melbourne, National Hurricane Center, Orange County Government and City of Orlando websites.