TAMPA, Fla. — Saturday marks the end of a hurricane season that Tampa Bay residents would love to forget after two named storms tore through the area.
Overall, the Atlantic basin saw 18 named storms in 2024, defined as winds of 39 mph or greater. Eleven of those named storms became hurricanes, and five grew into major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or greater.
Five hurricanes made landfall in the continental United States, two of which were major hurricanes.
NOAA forecasters warned the season would be more active than normal and while there was a lull in the middle of the season, the Tampa Bay region saw the season come roaring back in October.
Record-setting early storm
Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Atlantic basin Category 5 hurricane on record. The system hit Category 5 status while in the Eastern Caribbean Sea, eventually making landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula, and quickly weakened.
Beryl emerged over the southwest Gulf of Mexico and then strengthened back to a Category 1 storm before making landfall near Mategora, Texas, around 4 a.m. on July 8. The system produced significant storm surge flooding across parts of Texas and Louisiana.
The intensity of Beryl foreshadowed what was to come for the west coast of Florida.
Hurricane Debby
Hurricane Debby began to form at the end of July in the central Atlantic Ocean. As it exited the northwest coast of Cuba, the system became a tropical storm. It remained a tropical storm for most of its life before strengthening into a Category 1 storm less than 12 hours before landfall.
Hurricane Debby made landfall around 7 a.m. on Aug. 5 near Steinhatchee, Florida. The system pushed a storm surge of 3 to 5 feet above ground across portions of the Nature Coast and the Big Bend.
Debby also dumped 8 to 12 inches across much of the area and even 15 inches were observed in some areas of Florida.
The system didn't hit the Tampa Bay region, but it did get close enough to make people pay attention. Residents would need it as two large hurricanes would hit the region in roughly two weeks.
Hurricane Helene
Helene began forming on September 22 and became a tropical storm as it approached the Yucatan Peninsula. The system quickly intensified over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and reached Category 4 level by the evening of September 26.
As Helene took aim at Florida, schools closed in the Tampa Bay region as residents prepared for the worst. Mandatory evacuations were issued for some coastal areas as the system neared. Busch Gardens, Tampa International Airport, and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport all closed on September 26.
Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm.
The storm brought heavy rains, winds, and plenty of damage to coastal areas of the Tampa Bay region. But Helene's worst damage was not in Florida.
As the system moved inland, it moved across Georgia and then stalled out over Tennessee and North Carolina. Helene dumped large amounts of rain across the region and photos showed roads and homes completely washed away or with water up to their roofs.
More than 200 people died due to Hurricane Helene, with the majority coming in North and South Carolina.
Overall, damage from Hurricane Helene was expected to be between $30 and $48 billion across multiple southeastern states.
But just as residents in Tampa Bay started to exhale from Helene, a new threat to the area was beginning to organize.
Hurricane Milton
After a century of avoiding a direct hit from a hurricane, Tampa Bay couldn't avoid the worst from Milton.
The system started out as a tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean Sea before intensifying into a hurricane as it moved east on Oct. 7. When the system formed, the National Hurricane Center started to warn Tampa area residents that this storm was likely headed this way.
And that early forecast proved to be prescient.
Milton exploded in strength over the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of intensification that was among the highest ever observed. The system saw its winds increase by 90 miles per hour during a 24-hour period from early Oct. 6 to early Oct. 7.
Milton peaked as a Category 5 storm, making it the second Category 5 storm of the 2024 season. It was also the strongest tropical cyclone in the world in 2024, when winds hit 180 miles per hour.
The storm continued to track toward the Tampa Bay area as schools closed and coastal cities braced for the possibility of a direct impact into Tampa Bay. As it neared the Florida coast, Milton weakened but made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on Oct. 9.
Milton left a path of damage, flooding, and power outages across most of Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties. Hundreds of thousands were without power in the region, and gasoline was in short supply for several days afterward.
Even now, more than six weeks after Milton made landfall, debris and destroyed buildings can still be found up and down the coast and residents are still trying to put their lives back together from the storm.
2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season by the numbers
- 18 - number of named storms
- 11 - number of hurricanes
- 5 - number of major hurricanes
- 2 - number of Category 5 hurricanes
- 180 miles per hour - peak sustained winds from Hurricane Milton
- 392 - NOAA Hurricane Hunter missions to collect atmospheric data
- 80 - number of times Hurricane Hunters flew through the eye of hurricanes
- 7 - number of storms that formed after September 25
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