Highlands County, Florida
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1964 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
49
Tornado reports
60
Hail reports
13
Floods since 1996
351
All events
9
Deaths
$922.6M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Highlands County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 47 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Highlands County Sheriff and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers discovered the vehicle and bodies of two men and their hunting dogs on a levee along a canal near Rucks Dairy Road southeast of Brighton in Highlands County. The men had reportedly gone huntin…
In Highlands County, the highest wind reported from Hurricane Irma was a (3 second average) gust to 85 knots at Archbold Bio Station during the evening on the 10th. Elsewhere, the AWOS in Sebring registered a 5 second average gust to 75 knots. Rainfall was generally around 5 inch…
A 32-year-old woman in Venus died from injuries after a tornado threw her 200 feet away from her home. She was found cradling her 3-year-old daughter in her arms who survived.
A 32-year-old male was struck by a bolt from the blue while golfing on the 18th hole at the Spring Lake Golf Resort. The Lorida Fire Department put out a small fire in a nearby tree. It was not raining at the time of the lightning strike.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Highlands County EM shared photos of damage to a pavilion at Lake June Park Sports Complex that had large pieces of its metal roofing peeled off and deposited approximately 80 to 85 yards away into an adjacent tree line and fencing. Time estimated from radar and data from a Weath…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Local EM reports tree and roof damage at an auto dealership near Sebring.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Highlands County EM relayed reports and pictures of 2 barns damaged by straight-line winds associated with a downburst from thunderstorms in the area. Mostly minor damage consisting of metal siding or roofing peeled away from the structures.
Hurricane (Typhoon) Hurricane (Typhoon)
Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 65 to 75 mph, with maximum gusts of 73 mph at Avon Park AF Range at 9:22 PM EST, Sebring Regional Airport at 9:55 PM EST, and Lake Placid at 9:40 PM EST, each on October 9. Rainfall ranged from 3 to 6 inches, with a …
Tornado EF1 Tornado
Tornado estimated to have begun over rural area south of Wild Island and county road 621 in conjunction with robust reflectivity and velocity signatures via the distant KTBW radar. Social media pictures and videos of the tornado emerged shortly thereafter of the tornado passing n…
Tornado estimated to have begun near the southeastern shore of Lake Clay before moving north-northwest across the lake and entering the Tropical Harbor Mobile Home community situated along the northern shore of the lake. Approximately 20 to 30 units suffered damage, primarily con…
Tornado EF1 Tornado
Tornado damage was first observed near the intersection of County Rd 731 and Alphonso Lane, where several hardwood oaks had large branches snapped along with a home with roof and garage damage. The track continued north along Alphonso Lane producing roof damage to an additional h…
Tornado EF1 Tornado
Tornado is from the same cell that moved over Venus, but no known damage indicators between the points to indicate a continuous path. Half of the roof was torn off of the Archbold COOP Station building, with some minor damage to the roof of a nearby building. Trees and open field…
Tornado EF0 Tornado
Tornado damage was first noted to Oak Tree Inn along U.S. Hwy 27 where portions of its roof were blown off and deposited in an area of trees to its rear. Large tree limbs were also snapped in the vicinity. An intermittent damage path continued off to the north-northwest west of U…
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 30 to 40 mph, with a maximum gust of 43 mph at Sebring Regional Airport at 8:35 PM EST on August 4. Rainfall ranged from 2 to 5 inches, with a maximum total of 4.37 inches near Archbold.
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 40 to 50 mph, with a maximum gust of 47 mph at Sebring Regional Airport at 3:15 PM EST on August 30. Rainfall ranged from 1 to 3 inches, with a maximum total of 2.18 inches near Sebring. A tornado was observed near A…
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
The highest wind reported in Highlands County was a gust to 43 mph at Sebring Regional Airport at 7:55 AM EST on November 10. Rainfall generally ranged from 1 to 3 inches with a maximum of 2.98 inches reported near Lake Wales. Approximately 500 customers experienced power outages…
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
The highest wind reported in Highlands County was a gust to 78 mph at the Sebring Regional Airport at 8:15 PM EST on September 28. Rainfall generally ranged from 5 to 10 inches, with a maximum total of 7.2 inches near Lake Josephine; however, radar estimates indicated 10 to 15 in…
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
EM relayed social media video of funnel cloud taken from near the Sebring Raceway.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Mesonet site LWEF1 Lake Wales reported a wind gust of 58 mph.
Hail Hail
Social media video showed estimated quarter size hail near Avon Park.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Law enforcement reported minor roof damage to one structure and a downed tree onto another nearby structure.
Hail Hail
Multiple golf ball hail reports near Sebring from NWS employee and trained spotters. Damage includes broken windows and punctured siding on homes along with shattered car windshields.
Hail Hail
Multiple golf ball size hail reports near Avon Park from trained spotters.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Emergency Manager reported multiple homes with roof, carport, or window damage at leisure acres mobile home park.
Tornado EF1 Tornado
Severel power poles snapped just northwest of Arbuckel Creek RD and Highway 98 due to a brief tornado.
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
Hurricane Eta formed in the central Caribbean Sea on October 31st and moved through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico making four separate landfalls. The first landfall was in Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua before re emerging and making landfall in Cuba and the Florida Keys. Et…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A large tree was uprooted in the Leisure Lake subdivision of Placid Lakes.
Tropical Storm Tropical Storm
Subtropical Storm Alberto formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea on the morning of May 25th and moved north through through the eastern Gulf before making landfall near Laguna Beach Florida on the afternoon of the 28th with a minimum central pressure of 990mb. Storm surge was c…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The Highlands County 911 call center reported widespread wind damage throughout the county, with numerous trees and power lines down.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Highlands County emergency management reported a produce truck was overturned by thunderstorm wind gusts on SR 621 and Charlie Dr.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The AWOS at Sebring Regional Airport reported a 62 MPH thunderstorm wind gust.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The Highlands County emergency manager reported a downed tree on Lakeview Drive in Sebring.
Frost/Freeze Frost/Freeze
Temperatures dropped into the mid to upper 20s across Highlands County for several hours on the morning of the 18th, causing damage to citrus groves and landscaping. The coldest temperature reported was 25 degrees at the COOP site near Avon Park.
Wildfire Wildfire
One home was reported to be damaged by a wildfire in Lake Placid. The fire spread to 68 acres before being contained.
Lightning Lightning
Lightning is believed to be the cause of a fire that destroyed one mobile home and damaged four others.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Highlands County Emergency Management reported that a total of 10 homes sustained wind damage in a mobile home park. Two of the homes became uninhabitable, while the other eight sustained minor damage. A video of the event appears to show the damage was caused by a gustnado along…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A local newspaper reported damage to a few homes near H.L Bishop Park. One home had their lanai ripped off the home. Another resident had a few magnolia trees down in the yard while another had a tree fall through her bedroom window.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Florida Department of Emergency Management relayed a report of a secondary roof pulled off of an older mobile home that downed a power line in Avon Park, along with a trampoline flipped over.
Hail Hail
Employees of the Market 27 store in Avon Park reported quarter size hail.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The large business sign at the Market 27 store in Avon Park was destroyed.
Hail Hail
The Highlands County Emergency Manager relayed numerous reports of quarter size hail in downtown Lake Placid.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
The Highlands County Sheriffs office reported numerous downed power lines in Lake Placid.
Hail Hail
Pictures and video were received via social media of quarter to golf ball size hail falling in Lake Placid.
Hail Hail
A trained spotted, HIG-308, relayed a report of nickel size hail at the Leisure Lakes subdivision in Highlands County.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 10 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 |
| 2012 | 11 | 3 |
| 2011 | 7 | 1 |
| 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2009 | 10 | 0 |
| 2008 | 13 | 1 |
| 2007 | 5 | 0 |
| 2006 | 5 | 0 |
| 2005 | 6 | 1 |
| 2004 | 6 | 0 |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| 2002 | 12 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 0 |
| 2000 | 15 | 1 |
| 1999 | 45 | 2 |
| 1998 | 32 | 2 |
| 1997 | 20 | 2 |
| 1996 | 8 | 0 |
| 1995 | 6 | 2 |
| 1993 | 5 | 1 |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 8 | 0 |
| 1990 | 10 | 2 |
| 1989 | 4 | 1 |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 3 | 0 |
| 1985 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | 2 | 2 |
| 1982 | 4 | 4 |
| 1980 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | 1 | 1 |
| 1978 | 4 | 3 |
| 1977 | 2 | 2 |
| 1976 | 3 | 1 |
| 1975 | 1 | 1 |
| 1974 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 | 2 | 1 |
| 1972 | 3 | 1 |
| 1971 | 3 | 2 |
| 1970 | 4 | 2 |
| 1969 | 1 | 1 |
| 1967 | 2 | 2 |
| 1964 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Highlands County, measured to its path.
We couldn’t get your location. Check that location access is allowed for this site, or type an address.