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Although many studies have attempted to reconstruct millennial‐scale hurricane patterns using various proxy‐based methods, it is still unclear what the most effective proxies are to identify storm surge deposits in different environmental settings. This study quantitatively compares the application of grain‐size, loss‐on‐ignition, stable isotopes, X‐ray fluorescence, and palynological proxies in paleotempestology from an organic‐rich environment in the Florida Everglades. The nonparametric tests indicate that only 9 among the 27 parameters (mean diameter, %water, %organic, %carbonate, Ca, Sr, Ca/Ti, Cl/Br, and marine microfossils) exhibited significant differences between storm‐surge and in situ deposits. The principal component analysis shows that five marine indicators (Sr, Ca, Ca/Ti, %Carbonate, and Marine microfossils) have the closest association with the allochthonous samples, while Cl/Br and Mz are the most sensitive proxies in low‐ and high‐energy environments, respectively. Moreover, organic geochemical proxies (e.g., δ13C and δ15N of bulk sedimentary organic matter) are ineffective for identifying storm‐surge deposits in organic‐rich mangrove environments. Plain Language Summary: To help objectively identify the occurrence of storm‐surge deposits in coastal sediment cores, this study uses a statistical approach to evaluate the effectiveness of 27 widely used sedimentological, organic and inorganic geochemical, and biological parameters in distinguishing allochthonous deposits from autochthonous deposits in an organic‐rich environment in the Florida Everglades. The results show that Ca, Sr, Ca/Ti, and marine microfossil are four of the most sensitive parameters to distinguish storm‐surge deposits in organic‐rich environments in south Florida. In addition, Cl/Br can be used to indicate storm surge inundation in further inland and lower‐energy environments. Moreover, organic geochemical proxies cannot effectively distinguish storm‐surge deposits from in situ deposits in mangrove‐dominated coastal zones. Future studies need to explore the use of more specific organic geochemical proxies (e.g., biomarker) in mangrove‐dominated environments and evaluate the effective proxies in detecting storm deposits from sandy, deltaic/estuarine, and nontropical coastal environments. Key Points: Ca, Sr, Ca/Ti, and marine microfossil are the most sensitive parameters to identify storm‐surge deposits in organic‐rich environmentsCl/Br can be used to indicate storm surge inundation in further inland and lower energy environmentsOrganic geochemical proxies cannot effectively distinguish storm‐surge deposits from in situ deposits in mangrove‐dominated coastal zones [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]