Broward County, Florida

What hazards hit Broward County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 385 since 1955. 40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Florida's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Broward County had?

NOAA records 147 tornadoes in Broward County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 1 death and 96 injuries recorded in the county. That is 9th of 67 Florida counties and 31st of 3,080 U.S. counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 146 tornadoes whose track touched Broward County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 147: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Florida.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Broward County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 12, 2026 rip current (1 injury).

A man was resuscitated on scene and rushed to the hospital after being pulled from the water on Hollywood Beach near Charleston Street on Sunday.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1332902)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Broward County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

40% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1955 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Broward County

FEMA's register lists 43 declarations that include Broward County: 26 major disasters, 16 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for hurricane (25) and freezing (5).

The 40 most recent of 43 are listed; the CSV has every one.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Broward County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 158 flood or flash flood records for Broward County from 1997 to 2025, on 117 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Broward County ranks 11th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $458 million on 35,049 claims filed in Broward County; the most in one year was 6,520 in 1999. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Broward County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Broward County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $648 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Broward County

1. Miami-Dade County 1,634
2. Palm Beach County 1,499
3. Broward County 1,480
4. Collier County 651
5. Hendry County 255

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in FloridaEvery Florida tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in FloridaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Florida recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Broward CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Broward County's FEMA declarations (CSV)43 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis