Lee County, Florida

What hazards hit Lee County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 229 since 1959. 41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1959 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 Lee County had?

NOAA records 130 tornadoes in Lee County from 1953 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 1 death and 35 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd of 67 Florida counties and 4th 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 132 tornadoes whose track touched Lee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 130: 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 Lee County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 28, 2026 tornado ($100,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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 winds.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1355105)

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 Lee 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 1959 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 Lee County

FEMA's register lists 45 declarations that include Lee County: 26 major disasters, 15 emergencies and 4 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (21) and fire (6).

The 40 most recent of 45 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 Lee County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 54 flood or flash flood records for Lee County from 1996 to 2025, on 49 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Lee County ranks 9th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.0 billion on 48,496 claims filed in Lee County; the most in one year was 28,889 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 Lee County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lee County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $433 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 Lee County

1. Lee County 782
2. Collier County 651
3. Charlotte County 388
4. Hendry County 255
5. Glades County 240

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 Lee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Lee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)45 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis