ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The most destructive hurricane to ever hit the Tampa Bay area happened on this day, Oct. 25, in 1921.
It made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Tarpon Springs. Winds were estimated to be around 120 mph at landfall, with a storm surge of up to 11 feet.
The 1921 Tampa/Tarpon Springs hurricane took the lives of eight people. It is also estimated that the hurricane caused $10 million in damage, which would be over $100 million in today's value.
According to the National Weather Service, the storm reached Category 4 intensity over the Gulf of Mexico before weakening somewhat — still being able to send in a destructive storm surge and strong winds.
The only other hurricane that has been known to make landfall near Tampa Bay was in 1848. That means it has been more than 100 years since the last major hurricane hit Tampa Bay.
Tampa has had narrow misses during the past two hurricane seasons with Idalia this year and Ian last year. Some might think that Tampa is protected from hurricanes, but this is not true. The Bay area is one of the most prone and overdue coastal areas to see a direct hurricane hit.
That means it is not if but when Tampa will be impacted by a major hurricane.
Oct. 25 will also now be an infamous day in Mexico's history after Hurricane Otis made landfall early in the morning as a Category 5 storm near Acapulco. Otis went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in just 12 hours.
It was also not forecast to become that strong and is now the strongest storm on record to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico.