Lee County, Florida
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1953 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
130
Tornado reports
122
Hail reports
52
Floods since 1996
749
All events
24
Deaths
$2.7B
Property damage
Tornado paths in Lee County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 127 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.
A family of four was on the beach at Sanibel Island as a thunderstorm moved overhead. Unfortunately a lightning strike hit the father and he died of his injuries.
Local broadcast media reported that a 9 month pregnant woman was struck by lightning in a neighborhood in Fort Myers. She was transported to a local hospital. After arriving at the hospital, doctors delivered the baby. After a few weeks in intensive care, the child passed away. T…
A 35 year old man was struck by lightning while working on the 6th floor lanai of a building under construction. Witnesses said that this was the only lightning strike seen or heard in the area from the storm. Attempts to resuscitate the man were unsuccessful, and he died at the …
Two men working on a roof were struck by lightning. They stopped working when it began to rain but returned shortly after the rain had stopped. Neighbors said that the lightning strike hit a roofer directly in the head ' knocking him unconscious. That bolt then transferred to ano…
Local law enforcement and media reported a lightning strike on Fort Myers Beach. Three people were walking on the beach with thunderstorms in the area. A 41 year old male was struck and killed. Two others were injured, one critically, and were transported to a local hospital.
An 11 year old student was struck by lightning during football practice at around 4:30 pm EDT on the 3rd, right after taking the field. The student died on the afternoon of the 7th after he was removed from life support.
Afternoon temperatures in the lower 90s combined with dew points in the lower 70s to make a heat index of 100 to 105 degrees on this afternoon. A 25-year-old male collapsed and later died due to the heat while playing basketball with friends in Cape Coral.
A 53-year-old man was struck by lightning while standing on a pier on the Caloosahatchee River near Freemont Street. He was taken to the hospital and died the next day.
Lightning struck a tree and killed a 13-year-old boy who was standing nearby. The boy was among a group of kids playing at a popular swimming hole at Ocean Park Drive. It was not raining at the time of the strike.
Lightning from a fast-moving thundertstorm killed two Fort Myers roofers and injured a third as they were getting ready to go home for the day.
A golfer was struck while walking on the fairway toward a ball. The sun was shining at the golf course at the time of the strike but isolated thunderstorms were moving onshore near the course.
A man was struck by lightning while playing golf. The lightning strike entered in his stomach and exited out his foot. It was not raining at the golf course when the lightning strike occurred, however dark clouds were nearby.
Lightning struck and killed a 23 year old man while he was playing soccer at Billy Bowlegs Park in Fort Myers.
Field worker preparing a field for tomatoes was struck and killed.
A 65 year old male drowned in a rip current at Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel Island.
The Lee County Health Department reported that a 44 year-old male died from the combined affects of heat and alcohol in an enclosed parked van in North Ft Myers.
The Lee County Health Department reported that 46 year-old man was found dead from the affects of heat and alcohol in the back of a closed van on the 15000 block of North Cleveland Avenue.
The Lee County Health Department reported that an eleven month old female, left unattended in an unventilated, non-airconditioned room, died from the affects of heat in Ft Myers.
Two girls, ages nine and twelve, were swept out to sea by a rip current at Boca Grande Pass.
Thunderstorm winds uprooted several large pecan trees. Two mobile homes were blown over and several power lines were downed.
Iona/Fort Myers tornado. A waterspout first identified just northwest of Fort Myers Beach moved ashore as a tornado and pushed through the Iona area near Fort Myers producing EF-2 damage with peak winds estimated around 118 mph before dissipating near the Cape Coral bridge. Over …
Heavy rains from Hurricane Irma on the 10th and 11th cause water levels to rise on the Imperial River in southern Lee county to rise, resulting in flooding of hundreds of homes in Imperial Bonita Estates and the surrounding areas. Flood damage from Irma in Lee County was roughly …
NWS Storm Survey revealed EF-2 tornado damage in the western sections of Cape Coral. The tornado damaged 178 structures in total. One home was completely destroyed while 14 sustained major damage and another 163 sustained minor damage. The minor damage mainly consisted of roof da…
The tide gauge at Fort Myers measured a peak tide of 3.98 feet MLLW on afternoon of the 25th. Subtracting the predicted astronomical tide, the highest storm surge was calculated as 3.09 feet on the afternoon of the 25th. Lighthouse Road in Sanibel suffered erosion and was closed …
Thunderstorms continued to develop northward along the sea breeze front and produced a tornado that traveled due north from near the intersection of Rose Garden and and El Dorado Parkway West to near Skyline Boulevard and Veterans memorial Parkway. The damage path was less than t…
A fast moving tornado, on the low end of the F1 scale, associated with an outer band of hurricane Gordon, touched down along East Gulf Drive, two miles east of Sanibel on Sanibel Island, and caused extensive damage to two condominium complexes, two dozen nearby homes and lanais. …
A tornado hit the Imperial Lakes Mobile Home Park. 54 mobile homes were damaged including 37 which suffered substantial damage. One person was injured by flying glass.
The metal roof of a boat dry storage building was blown off at Fort Myers Beach Marina causing an estimated $750,000 damage to the building and 17 boats inside or nearby the building. One male sleeping onboard a boat received minor injuries. Several mobile homes east of the marin…
Strong winds blew down trees and power lines over an extensive area and ripped the roof of a 7-story building three-quarters of the way off.
Page Field Airport measured a wind gust to 59 mph at 0302 EST. Traffic signals and signs were blown down in San Carlos, with damage to homes and business buildings in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers. Southwest Florida Regional Airport recorded a gust to 69 mph at 0303 EST.
Tornado EF0 Tornado
Two mobile homes in North Fort Myers had roof damage. A video of lofted circulating debris supports a very brief touchdown, lifting about two-thirds of a roof off of one home and lifting the roof off of a porch of another. Time estimated from radar. Estimated EF-0 with 65 mph win…
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Broadcast media shared photos of a funnel cloud taken near Buckingham.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Pictures and video shared by the public via social and broadcast media showed a funnel cloud west of the intersection of U.S. Hwy 41/Cleveland Ave and Winkler Ave.
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A landspout tornado was observed at 3:17 PM EDT just to the east of U.S. Hwy 41/S Cleveland Ave and north of Woodland Blvd, where a citizen submitted video of a rotating cloud base and funnel near Wawa and Culver's, and later confirmed that they witnessed a ground circulation wit…
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A landspout tornado that was likely associated with the circulation from a previous landspout that dissipated minutes earlier is estimated to have formed around 3:25 PM EDT approximately 1.75 miles to the northwest of the previous landspout, where damage was first noted along Rey…
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A landspout tornado formed over Cape Coral just north of the Sovereign Canal near SW 28th St around 3:35 PM EDT in association with a separate segment of the cluster of thunderstorms, with evidence of the circulation visible in video taken by residents along SW 4th Ave and SW 5th…
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Broadcast media shared video of a funnel cloud near Pine Island.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Broadcast media relayed video of a funnel cloud southwest of Fort Myers Villas, taken from Alico Rd near Ben Hill Griffin Pkwy in Fort Myers.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 | 4 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 |
| 2024 | 10 | 4 |
| 2023 | 7 | 1 |
| 2022 | 19 | 4 |
| 2021 | 5 | 1 |
| 2020 | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 | 7 | 2 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 14 | 2 |
| 2016 | 16 | 3 |
| 2015 | 14 | 0 |
| 2014 | 6 | 1 |
| 2013 | 6 | 1 |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 |
| 2011 | 13 | 1 |
| 2010 | 10 | 0 |
| 2009 | 11 | 1 |
| 2008 | 19 | 2 |
| 2007 | 18 | 3 |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 |
| 2005 | 10 | 0 |
| 2004 | 25 | 7 |
| 2003 | 16 | 1 |
| 2002 | 12 | 1 |
| 2001 | 40 | 2 |
| 2000 | 44 | 8 |
| 1999 | 55 | 1 |
| 1998 | 50 | 1 |
| 1997 | 41 | 5 |
| 1996 | 33 | 3 |
| 1995 | 16 | 1 |
| 1994 | 15 | 1 |
| 1993 | 20 | 4 |
| 1992 | 11 | 4 |
| 1991 | 17 | 4 |
| 1990 | 17 | 10 |
| 1989 | 12 | 5 |
| 1988 | 4 | 1 |
| 1987 | 5 | 2 |
| 1986 | 3 | 3 |
| 1985 | 2 | 0 |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | 4 | 1 |
| 1982 | 8 | 3 |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 3 | 2 |
| 1979 | 2 | 2 |
| 1978 | 3 | 2 |
| 1977 | 3 | 2 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 7 | 3 |
| 1974 | 5 | 4 |
| 1973 | 3 | 1 |
| 1972 | 4 | 3 |
| 1971 | 3 | 1 |
| 1970 | 3 | 0 |
| 1968 | 5 | 2 |
| 1966 | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | 6 | 2 |
| 1964 | 1 | 1 |
| 1963 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | 2 | 1 |
| 1960 | 2 | 1 |
| 1959 | 3 | 2 |
| 1958 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | 1 | 0 |
| 1953 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Lee County, measured to its path.
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