Hillsborough County, Florida

What hazards hit Hillsborough County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 481 since 1955. 41% 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 Hillsborough County had?

NOAA records 149 tornadoes in Hillsborough County from 1951 to 2026, the strongest rated F2, with 1 death and 124 injuries recorded in the county. That is 5th of 67 Florida counties and 17th 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 153 tornadoes whose track touched Hillsborough County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 149: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 12 people, 1 of them in Hillsborough County.

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 Hillsborough County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 24, 2026 tornado ($5,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Damage to a single pool cage was noted, and some images show small debris being lofted into the air. Residents in the neighborhood reported and shared images of a few additional structures that sustained minor damage. Additionally, a large tree was also blown over in the community one street over from where the main damage was noted. No additional damage or reports could be located.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1338423)

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 Hillsborough 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?

41% 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 Hillsborough County

FEMA's register lists 47 declarations that include Hillsborough County: 27 major disasters, 17 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (21) and severe storm (7).

The 40 most recent of 47 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 Hillsborough County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 96 flood or flash flood records for Hillsborough County from 1996 to 2025, on 74 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hillsborough County ranks 25th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 billion on 18,556 claims filed in Hillsborough County; the most in one year was 10,269 in 2024. 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 Hillsborough County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hillsborough County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $495 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 Hillsborough County

1. Hillsborough County 1,355
2. Polk County 1,028
3. Pinellas County 993
4. Pasco County 743
5. Manatee County 621
6. Hardee County 253

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 Hillsborough CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hillsborough County's FEMA declarations (CSV)47 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis