Seminole County, Florida

What hazards hit Seminole County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 153 since 1969. 42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Seminole County had?

NOAA records 31 tornadoes in Seminole County from 1966 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 12 deaths and 50 injuries recorded in the county. That is 11th of 67 Florida counties and 44th 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 31 tornadoes whose track touched Seminole County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 31, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 13 people, 12 of them in Seminole 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 Seminole County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 27, 2025 lightning ($550,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Emergency manager reported that a lightning caused fire destroyed a home on Northumbria Dr in Sanford. The house was a total loss.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1265423)

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 Seminole 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?

42% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1969 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 Seminole County

FEMA's register lists 39 declarations that include Seminole County: 23 major disasters, 14 emergencies and 2 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (20) and freezing (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 Seminole County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 16 flood or flash flood records for Seminole County from 2001 to 2026, on 15 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Seminole County ranks 235th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $54.0 million on 1,562 claims filed in Seminole County; the most in one year was 615 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 Seminole County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Seminole County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $129 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 Seminole County

1. Brevard County 1,127
2. Orange County 780
3. Volusia County 779
4. Lake County 414
5. Seminole County 391

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 Seminole CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Seminole County's FEMA declarations (CSV)39 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis