Escambia County, Florida severe weather history spans 649 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #478 nationally and #19 in Florida.
649
Recorded events
34
Direct deaths
257
Direct injuries
$189.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Escambia County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Escambia County, Florida severe weather history averages 8.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 181 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 150 events fall before 1990 and 499 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Escambia County, Florida record is rip current, responsible for 26 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $152.0M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Escambia County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 295 | 1 | $2.3M | 80 | 1957–2026 |
| Tornado | 99 | 0 | $34.8M | F3 | 1953–2025 |
| Hail | 80 | 0 | $29K | 2 | 1971–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 75 | 1 | $152.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 42 | 6 | $387K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Rip Current | 31 | 26 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Waterspout | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2009 |
| Coastal Flood | 2 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1999–1999 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Escambia County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
91 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 85 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-02-15 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 16.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-02-23 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-03 | EF3 | 0 | 18 | 70.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1967-10-30 | EF3 | 0 | 44 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-26 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 105.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-12-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Escambia County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 6, 2001 | Rip Current | PENSACOLA BEACH | 2 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 8, 2001 | Lightning | PENSACOLA BEACH | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 4, 2000 | Rip Current | PENSACOLA BEACH | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | Rip Current | PENSACOLA BEACH | 1 | 6 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 1996 | Lightning | PERDIDO KEY | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2008 | Lightning | PENSACOLA BEACH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | Lightning | FERRY PASS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 13, 2002 | Rip Current | PENSACOLA BEACH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two women were killed by lightning near Pensacola Beach at the Fort Pickens State Park. The women were walking side by side on the beach as a thunderstorm moved ashore from the Gulf of Mexico. The storm had not previously been producing much lightning activity, and the women were casually walking to shelter when the bolt struck them. Both women, who were from the local area, were killed instantly.
A 59 year old male from Tennessee and his daughters father in-law, a 60 year old male from Great Britain, both drowned while swimming in rough waters near the Santa Rosa and Escambia county lines. The male from England was swimming in the rough surf when he encountered a strong rip current. The male from Tennessee jumped in to help the man from England and they both drowned. Two firefighters attempting to rescue the men had to be pulled from the heavy surf and were transported to a local hospital. They were checked over and released. Rescuers on the scene said the surf was the roughest they had ever seen. The drownings occurred near Parking Lot number 1 east of Pensacola Beach.
Three people from Mobile (two males and a female) went to the beach to celebrate the females birthday. They were swimming in rough surf off of Pensacola Beach. The female got in a strong current and the two males tried to rescue her. Both of the males drowned in the rough surf and the female was rescued by other swimmers.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
325,923
Population (ACS)
$257K
Median home value
40
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM |
| Aug 10, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR |
| Aug 3, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
| Sep 24, 2022 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Pensacola 107
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Escambia County, Florida?
649 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 34 direct deaths and $189.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Escambia County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 295 recorded events — 45.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Escambia County?
91 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 85 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Escambia County?
40 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Escambia County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Escambia County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Escambia County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 95 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Escambia County, Florida severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Duval County 1,751
- Flagler County 759
- Dixie County 136
- Franklin County 188
- DeSoto County 134
- Gadsden County 278
Cite this page
“Escambia County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/escambia-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.