Pensacola’s residents have endured more than 450 years of destructive hurricanes. The first historically recorded hurricane overwhelmed Don Tristán de Luna’s 1559 colonization attempt, destroying most of the ships in his fleet. In 1752, another hurricane drove a subsequent Spanish settlement from Santa Rosa Island. During a three-month siege against the British in 1781, a hurricane struck just three days before Spain’s victory.

Hurricanes also afflicted Pensacola at the turn of the 20th century. Three hurricanes in 1906, 1916, and 1926 shattered the city’s waterfront, causing significant damage to ships and local industry. By the 1950s, the familiar system of naming hurricanes was in place and new technology provided early warnings. Today, although these warnings help many coastal residents evacuate and save some of their possessions, hurricanes remain a threat. Hurricanes Erin and Opal thrashed Pensacola in 1995, followed by the devastating Hurricane Ivan in 2004.