Florida no stranger to Category 5 hurricanes. Comparing Andrew ...

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Rapid intensification expected as Milton approaches Florida

A hurricane expert explains where high-end tropical storm Milton is forming and how rapidly it is intensifying.

More details, latest watches and warning, spaghetti models, and expected impacts from Hurricane Milton can be found here. In a rush? Here's what you need to know in a minute.

As Hurricane Milton continues to rapidly strengthen Oct. 7, Florida residents may find little time to think back to other hurricanes that have impacted the state.

➤ Spaghetti models for Hurricane Milton

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For those still literally picking up the pieces after Hurricane Helene's landfall and associated storm surge hit Sept. 26, prior hurricanes and their impacts are only too real.

Here's a look back as we prepare for what's ahead.

Hurricane Milton: What you need to know

Watches, warnings issued across Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton

Spaghetti models for Hurricane Milton

Special note about spaghetti models: Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The Hurricane Center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts. 

➤ Track Hurricane Milton

Let's take a look at recent and other hurricanes that have had an impact on Florida.

Notable hurricanes in Florida's history

Some notable hurricanes in Florida's history as compiled by the Florida Climate Center include:

Category 5:

• Labor Day Hurricane: 1935. Landfall in Craig Key
• Andrew: 1992. Landfall at Homestead
• Michael: 2018. Landfall at Mexico Beach, Tyndall Air Force Base

Category 4:

• Great Miami Hurricane: 1926. Landfall in South Miami
• Lake Okeechobee Hurricane. 1928. Landfall in Jupiter
• Unnamed storm. 1947. Landfall in Pompano Beach
• Unnamed storm. 1949. Landfall in Palm Beach Shores
• Donna. 1960. Landfall in Naples
• Charley. 2004. Landfall in Punta Gorda
• Irma. 2017. Landfall at Cudjoe Key
• Ian. 2022. Landfall at Cayo Costa

NOAA stats reveal trillions of dollars in damage caused by hurricanes

As the southeast begins to recover from Helene, records from NOAA show the average cost of hurricane damage to be in the billions.

Aerial cameras provide a haunting view of Hurricane Ian's damage

The state of Florida suffered unprecedented damage from from Hurricane Ian. Aerial cameras offer a look at the scale of the damage.

Hank Farr, USA TODAY

• Year: 2022
• Location: Made landfall in Cayo Costa Island, Florida about 29 miles west of Fort Myers
• Deaths: 156
• Damage: $113 billion (2022 dollars)
• What happened: Classified as a Category 5 hurricane, Ian was the third-costliest hurricane on record, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane was also the costliest storm in the history of Florida. Apart from the extensive damages it caused in Florida, Ian also caused damages in Cuba and the Carolinas.

• Year: 2018
• Location: Hurricane Michael made landfall near Tyndall Air Force Base and Mexico Beach as a Category 5 Hurricane on Oct. 10, 2018, with maximum sustained wind speeds of  161 mph.
• Deaths: Eight direct fatalities were reported in the tri-state area, seven in Florida and one in Georgia. Five of these deaths were due to storm surge and three were attributed to wind. In addition, there were 43 indirect deaths associated with Hurricane Michael.
• Damage: Approximately $25 billion in damages
• What happened: Based on minimum pressure of 919 mb, Michael is the fourth most-powerful hurricane to hit the United States, according to the National Weather Service.

More hurricanes of note that have struck Florida

The Great Miami Hurricane, Sept. 18, 1926

• Category:   4
• Damage in 1926:  $105 million
• Estimated damage today: $157-$164 billion
• Deaths:  372
• Interactive map

The eye of the hurricane passed over downtown Miami and parts of Coconut Grove and South Miami around 6:30 a.m. Sept. 18, 1926. Residents of the city, unfamiliar with hurricanes, thought the storm was over.  People even began returning to the mainland from Miami Beach. 

The lull lasted about 35 minutes, according to Richard Gray, of the Weather Office in Miami  at the time. The worst part of the hurricane brought a 10-foot storm surge onto Miami Beach and the barrier islands about 7 a.m. which continued the rest of the morning.  

At the height of the storm surge, the water from the Atlantic extended all the way across Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay into the city of Miami for several city blocks. The 1926 Miami Hurricane made a second landfall in Florida on Sept. 20 near Pensacola.

Hurricane Andrew, 1992

• Category:  5
• Damage in 1992:  $26.5 billion
• Estimated damage today: $57.7 billion
• Deaths:  65

Hurricane Andrew struck Dade County, Florida as a Category 5 storm, with a central pressure of 922 millibars, the third lowest in the 20th century. At the time, Hurricane Andrew was the costliest on record, causing $26.5 billion in damage. Both Katrina and Ike have caused greater damage in more recent years.

Lake Okeechobee Hurricane, 1928

• Category:  4
• Damage in 1928:  $100 million
• Estimated damage today: $33.6 billion
• Deaths:  4,078

The Lake Okeechobee Hurricane, also known as the San Felipe Segundo Hurricane, struck South Florida as a strong Category 4 storm on September 16th, 1928. It cost over 4,078 lives — 2,500 in South Florida alone — making it the second most deadly hurricane in U.S. history. Damage totaled approximately $100 million, including its impact in the Caribbean.

The greatest loss of life was around Lake Okeechobee. Winds pushed the lake’s water onto the lake’s southern shore, causing a hastily-built dike to fail. Water rushed onto farmland, drowning thousands of people, most of them non-white migrant farm workers. Many of the victims’ bodies were washed into the everglades and never found. 

After the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane the remains of hundreds of African Americans were taken to West Palm Beach and buried in an unmarked mass grave in the city's pauper cemetery. The property was reacquired by the city in 2000 to memorialize the tragedy.

Today the 30-foot-high Hoover Dike protects the lands around Lake Okeechobee. However, the dike has not been tested with a direct hit from a category 4 or 5 storm such as the Lake Okeechobee Hurricane.

Hurricane Donna, 1960

• Category:  4
• Damage in 1960:  $387 million
• Estimated damage today: $29.6 billion
• Deaths:  164

Hurricane Donna struck the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm with an atmospheric pressure at landfall of 27.46 inches, making Donna the 5th largest hurricane in United States history. The hurricane moved slowly up the Atlantic coastline, striking eastern North Carolina and parts of South Carolina as a Category 3 storm. Donna moved back out to sea before again making landfall at Long Island as a Category 3 hurricane. It continued northward through New England as a Category 1 & 2 storm.

Donna holds a record for maintaining hurricane status for 17 days. The slow progress of the storm made for extraordinarily heavy rainfall, causing lakes and streams to overflow and forcing evacuation of some homes. High water also closed roads and inundated agricultural lands. Hurricane Donna produced significant storm surges. The Florida Keys’ surge was as high as 13 feet, with 11 feet along the southwest coast of Florida and four to ten feet in North Carolina and New England.

Hurricane Donna caused 50 deaths in the United States and 114 deaths from the Leeward Islands to the Bahamas, including 107 in Puerto Rico. The hurricane caused approximately $387 million in damage in the United States.

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