Manatee County, Florida

What hazards hit Manatee County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 165 since 1958. 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 Manatee County had?

NOAA records 94 tornadoes in Manatee County from 1955 to 2026, the strongest rated F3, with 2 deaths and 26 injuries recorded in the county. That is 6th of 67 Florida counties and 18th 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 95 tornadoes whose track touched Manatee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 94: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 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 Manatee County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 26, 2026 tornado ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A tornado briefly touched down just west of U.S. Hwy 301, where the resident of a home along Loch Ness Gln witnessed damage to the backyard fence. The resident reported that the tornado lifted shortly thereafter, while another area resident witnessed debris being lofted in an open field just to the north prior to the tornado lifting. No additional damage or reports were received.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1338401)

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 Manatee 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 Manatee County. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Manatee County

FEMA's register lists 50 declarations that include Manatee County: 30 major disasters, 18 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (23) and severe storm (7).

The 40 most recent of 50 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 Manatee County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 59 flood or flash flood records for Manatee County from 1996 to 2024, on 50 days, with 2 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Manatee County ranks 46th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $651 million on 11,389 claims filed in Manatee County; the most in one year was 6,128 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 Manatee County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Manatee County Relatively High overall, with an expected annual loss of $255 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 Manatee County

1. Hillsborough County 1,355
2. Polk County 1,028
3. Manatee County 621
4. Sarasota County 518
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 Manatee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Manatee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)50 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis