Historical Storm Impacts in Tallahassee

Often enough that hurricanes are the largest single category in Leon County's federal disaster file: a count of its rows finds 19 of 37 FEMA declarations since 1973 with the hurricane incident type, and 5 more coded tropical storm (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

The Leon County record opens with a severe storms and flooding declaration in May 1973 and runs to EM-3655 for Hurricane Isaias, declared October 9, 2026 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County). Of the 37 entries, 23 are coded DR, 13 EM and one FM; FEMA's data dictionary describes that two character code as marking a major disaster, fire management or emergency declaration (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County; OpenFEMA data dictionary).

Source for the table: OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County.

The program flags differ from storm to storm. FEMA's field for the Individuals and Households program is set for Leon County in the Hermine, Michael and Helene disasters, while Irma, Ian, Nicole, Idalia and Debby list Public Assistance without it (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County; OpenFEMA data dictionary). Helene and Hermine each have their own guide in this Tallahassee weather section.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by pulling the OpenFEMA declaration list for Leon County (FIPS 12073) and re-reading the NWS Tallahassee event, Michael, Fay and Isaias pages alongside the NHC reports on Michael, Idalia and Debby.

Michael made a category 5 landfall near Tyndall Air Force Base on October 10, 2018, and the Tallahassee (KTLH) station logged a 62 knot gust and 3.34 inches of rain (NHC Hurricane Michael report).

The National Hurricane Center places landfall near Tyndall Air Force Base, southeast of Panama City, near 1730 UTC with maximum sustained winds of an estimated 140 knots, and calls Michael the strongest hurricane landfall of record in the Florida Panhandle (NHC Hurricane Michael report). Its observation table for Tallahassee (KTLH) lists a minimum pressure of 989.8 millibars at 1953 UTC, sustained winds of 41 knots and the 62 knot gust at 2005 UTC, and marks the record incomplete (NHC Hurricane Michael report).

The two federal offices rank Michael differently. NWS Tallahassee writes that, based on minimum pressure, Michael is the fourth most-powerful hurricane to hit the United States, behind the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Camille in 1969 and Andrew in 1992 (NWS Tallahassee Hurricane Michael summary). The NHC report says the 919 millibar landfall pressure is the third lowest on record for a landfalling U.S. hurricane since 1900, behind only the Labor Day Hurricane and Camille, and that by wind speed Michael ties the San Felipe Hurricane of 1928 as the fourth strongest (NHC Hurricane Michael report). Both statements are reported here as each office published them.

For Leon County, FEMA issued emergency declaration EM-3405 on October 9, 2018, the day before landfall, and major disaster DR-4399 on October 11 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

Badly: NWS Tallahassee says Fay's rainfall topped 20 inches in some locations and caused flooding in Tallahassee and surrounding cities that had not been seen in many years, if ever (NWS Tallahassee Tropical Storm Fay summary).

The office's photo record from the storm shows flood waters from a swollen Lake Ella approaching North Monroe Street in Tallahassee and engulfing businesses in the cottages on the west side of the lake, and a washed out section of Weeping Willow Way in eastern Leon County (NWS Tallahassee Tropical Storm Fay summary). On the Ochlockonee River, major flooding put the Havana gage just under a foot and a half short of its record crest (NWS Tallahassee Tropical Storm Fay summary).

The NWS events list dates Fay's local effects to August 21 to 25, 2008, and notes that the storm also spawned several tornadoes on the 23rd and 25th (NWS Tallahassee significant events). FEMA's Leon County file holds two Fay declarations: emergency EM-3288 on August 21, 2008 and major disaster DR-1785 on August 24, 2008, the second with the Individuals and Households program declared (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

Several inches of rain: Isaias came ashore near Destin, and gauges around Tallahassee caught 5.91 to 7.81 inches, in a preliminary NWS Tallahassee report (NWS Tallahassee Isaias post tropical cyclone report).

The report says Isaias made landfall near Destin around 8:30 PM CDT on Friday, October 9, 2026, as a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and an estimated minimum central pressure of 971 millibars, then weakened over southern Alabama (NWS Tallahassee Isaias post tropical cyclone report). Its rainfall table lists 7.81 inches at a CoCoRaHS gauge 5.1 miles northeast of Tallahassee, 6.34 inches 5.0 miles southeast, 6.02 inches at a Tallahassee CWOP station and 5.91 inches 5.6 miles east southeast (NWS Tallahassee Isaias post tropical cyclone report).

The report places the hurricane-force winds on coastal and near-coastal parts of the western Florida Panhandle. It lists gusts to 91 mph at Choctaw Beach and a peak water level of 5.59 feet above Mean Higher High Water at the Panama City Beach tide gauge, gives fatalities as 0 direct and 0 indirect, and leaves tornadoes as TBD (NWS Tallahassee Isaias post tropical cyclone report). The office issued the report at 1013 PM EDT on October 11, 2026, with the note that the data are preliminary and subject to updates and corrections (NWS Tallahassee PSH notice, October 11, 2026).

FEMA declared emergency EM-3655 for Leon County on October 9, 2026, under the title Hurricane Isaias but with the incident type listed as tropical storm, and with Public Assistance as the only program flagged (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

Kate in 1985, Irma in 2017, Idalia in 2023 and Debby in 2024 each led to a FEMA declaration for Leon County, as did Hermine in 2016 and Helene in 2024 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

Kate made landfall near Mexico Beach on November 21, 1985, and NWS Tallahassee names it the record-holder for the latest hurricane to develop in the Gulf and make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast (NWS Tallahassee significant events). FEMA declared DR-756 for Leon County on December 3, 1985 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County). Irma tracked across the Florida Peninsula and then the Big Bend, with effects felt on September 11, 2017, and the NWS says it downed widespread trees and power lines, particularly across the Big Bend and southwest Georgia (NWS Tallahassee significant events).

Idalia became a 115 knot category 4 hurricane around 0900 UTC on August 30, 2023, about 80 nautical miles south of Tallahassee, in the NHC report, which records sustained winds of 29 knots and a 44 knot gust at Tallahassee (KTLH) at 1147 UTC on August 30 (NHC Hurricane Idalia report). Debby made landfall as a 70 knot hurricane just west of Steinhatchee at 1100 UTC on August 5, 2024 (NHC Hurricane Debby report), and NWS Tallahassee notes it was the second storm to strike that part of the Florida coast within one year (NWS Tallahassee significant events).

By a count of the OpenFEMA titles, four Leon County declarations name storms but no tropical cyclone, from the May 1973 floods to the May 10, 2024 tornadoes (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).

FEMA titles the 1993 Leon County disaster, DR-982, as tornadoes, flooding, high winds and tides, freezing, with an incident date of March 12, 1993 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County). DR-1831 covers severe storms, flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds that began March 26, 2009, and the 1973 entry, DR-387, covers severe storms and flooding (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County). The May 10, 2024 tornadoes became DR-4794, declared June 17, 2024, one of the Leon County disasters with the Individuals and Households program declared (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County); the May 10, 2024 tornadoes have their own Tallahassee guide.

Fire has its own line in the Leon County file. FEMA lists an extreme fire hazard disaster, DR-1223, beginning May 25, 1998, and two April 1999 fire declarations, FM-2257 and EM-3139 (OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County). The January 21, 2025 winter storm described by NWS Tallahassee does not appear among the Leon County declarations (NWS Tallahassee significant events; OpenFEMA declarations, Leon County).