Okeechobee County, Florida

What hazards hit Okeechobee County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 52 since 1968. 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 Okeechobee County had?

NOAA records 27 tornadoes in Okeechobee County from 1959 to 2024, the strongest rated EF2, with 8 deaths and 71 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 26 tornadoes whose track touched Okeechobee County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 27: 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, 8 of them in Okeechobee 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 Okeechobee County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 9, 2024 tornado ($1.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Based on radar analysis and public video provided to the NWS, the tornado touched down immediately south of SR-70. At this location, irrigation equipment was flipped over, indicative of EF-0 winds of 75 - 85 mph. The tornado continued northeast to NE 120th St., where an outbuilding suffered damage to its metal roof; the roof was not torn off. Nearby hardwood trees were toppled and large branches were broken off, including at the entrance to Sunshine Grove (the site of the Okeechobee Music Festival). The damage in this area was consistent with EF-0 to EF-1 winds of 75 to 95 mph. From there, the tornado traveled over mainly undeveloped land on approach to 45th Terrace and NE 224th St. Though no damage was observed due to inaccessibility, dual polarimetric radar indicates that the tornado remained on the ground during this period. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1220134)

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

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

Federal disaster declarations for Okeechobee County

FEMA's register lists 35 declarations that include Okeechobee County: 19 major disasters, 13 emergencies and 3 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (18) and fire (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 Okeechobee County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 6 flood or flash flood records for Okeechobee County from 2004 to 2022, on 6 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Okeechobee County ranks 752nd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.9 million on 295 claims filed in Okeechobee County; the most in one year was 112 in 2004. 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 Okeechobee County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Okeechobee County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $26.6 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 Okeechobee County

1. Palm Beach County 1,499
2. Polk County 1,028
3. Highlands County 351
4. St. Lucie County 300
5. Osceola County 297
6. Indian River County 272
7. Martin County 270
8. Hendry County 255
9. Glades County 240
10. Okeechobee County 158

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 Okeechobee CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Okeechobee County's FEMA declarations (CSV)35 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis