Hardee County, Florida

What hazards hit Hardee County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 56 since 1970. 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 Hardee County had?

NOAA records 24 tornadoes in Hardee County from 1961 to 2024, the strongest rated EF1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 24 tornadoes whose track touched Hardee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 24, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

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 Hardee County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 28, 2022 hurricane (4 deaths and $1.0 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

The highest wind reported in Hardee County from Hurricane Ian was an 81 mph wind gust in Wauchula at 11:20 PM EST on September 29. Rainfall generally ranged from 15 to 20 inches, with a maximum total of 20.13 inches near Zolfo Springs. The Peace River in Zolfo Springs reached a record flood level of 27.24 feet at 4:30 PM EST on September 29. 18 structures were destroyed, 114 received major damage, 367 received minor damage, and 337 were affected with another 88 inaccessible. There were 9 fatalities reported by the medical examiner, with 4 directly attributed to Hurricane Ian.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1058664)

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

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 Hardee 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?

Records by month in Hardee County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Hardee County

FEMA's register lists 36 declarations that include Hardee County: 20 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (16) and severe storm (5).

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 Hardee County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 29 flood or flash flood records for Hardee County from 1997 to 2021, on 22 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hardee County ranks 1172nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $6.1 million on 129 claims filed in Hardee County; the most in one year was 54 in 2022. 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 Hardee County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hardee County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $25.4 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 Hardee County

1. Hillsborough County 1,355
2. Polk County 1,028
3. Manatee County 621
4. Highlands County 351
5. Hardee County 253
6. DeSoto County 239

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 Hardee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hardee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)36 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis