Florida hurricane season risks and late-season patterns

While the official hurricane season runs through November 30, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) records indicate that direct hurricane landfalls in Florida during November are rare. Historically, such events have occurred only about a dozen times in 175 years of record-keeping, averaging once every 15 years.

Notable late-season storms include Hurricane Kate, which made landfall near Mexico Beach on November 21, 1985, as a Category 2 storm. More recently, Hurricane Nicole struck in November 2022, causing an estimated $1 billion in damage across Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and the southeastern United States. Experts note that late-season systems do not require major-hurricane status to cause significant harm, particularly in low-lying areas like the Nature Coast and Cedar Key, where storm surges remain a threat.