FL

Storm restoration across Leon County

Leon County is an inland county but sits only 20 miles north of the Gulf Coast, making it directly vulnerable to landfalling hurricanes tracking through the Apalachee Bay corridor. Hurricane Hermine (2016) made landfall just east of St. Marks and knocked out power to 80 percent of Tallahassee, downed trees across 138 county roads, and caused $10.3 million in structural losses; Hurricane Michael (2018) and Hurricane Helene (2024) each delivered tropical-storm-force gusts exceeding 65 mph and caused tens of millions in countywide damage. The county's dense urban tree canopy - dominated by laurel oaks - amplifies wind damage and debris load with every storm, making roof and structure repair a recurring need after even moderate events. Inland flooding is a separate and persistent hazard: Leon County receives approximately 60 inches of rainfall annually, its closed-basin drainage geography traps stormwater with no surface outlet in many neighborhoods, and tropical systems regularly produce flash flooding and prolonged overland flooding well away from any coastline; storm surge risk is limited to the county's southernmost fringe near the Wakulla border.