St. Johns County, Florida

County storm and disaster record · FIPS 12109 · population 273,175 · 601 sq mi

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 937 records for St. Johns County, Florida from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 597 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (339 records). NOAA records 85 flood or flash floods there since 1996, with 0 deaths; its 7,639 flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA) rank 65th of 2,942 U.S. counties; the deadliest named storm on its flood record is Hurricane Milton (2024). The deadliest day on its record was May 17, 1998: rip current records filed for St. Johns County that day count 2 deaths across 2 records. FEMA has issued 34 declarations naming the county since 1968, 32 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Milton” on October 11, 2024.

The record, 1950 to 2026

Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $100,000
  • $100,000 or more
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more, or a death
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
  • 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
  • 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
Storm records
937on 597 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
Deaths recorded
2841 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$2.6Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
Tornadoes
66strongest F3
FEMA declarations
34latest 2024

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.

What hazards hit St. Johns County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 339 since 1964. 44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1964 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.

St. Johns County: records by hazard, 1950 to June 30, 2026
HazardRecordsDaysFirst, lastKilledInjuredDamageRank in state
Severe thunderstorm wind 339 244 1964-2026 0 3 $1.7M 5 of 67
Hail 121 82 1979-2025 0 0 – 8 of 67
Heavy rain 93 68 2004-2026 0 0 $3K 3 of 67
Floods 85 71 1996-2025 0 0 $50M 4 of 67
Tornadoes 66 55 1950-2025 0 17 $12M 12 of 67
Lightning 54 48 1999-2025 3 12 $2.4M 5 of 67
Fog, smoke and funnel clouds 53 51 1998-2025 0 0 – 15 of 67
Rip currents and high surf 52 49 1996-2024 25 8 $411K 2 of 67
Hurricanes and tropical storms 32 29 1999-2024 0 0 $2.5B 12 of 67
Drought 21 5 2007-2026 0 0 – 34 of 67
Wildfires 14 13 1998-2024 0 1 – 9 of 67
High wind and dust storms 4 3 1996-2021 0 0 $38K 28 of 67
Winter storms 3 2 1996-1997 0 0 $523K 31 of 67

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 St. Johns County had?

NOAA records 66 tornadoes in St. Johns County from 1950 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 17 injuries recorded in the county. That is 12th of 67 Florida counties and 63rd 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 68 tornadoes whose track touched St. Johns County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 66: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

The deadliest and strongest tornadoes that touched St. Johns County, whole tracks
DateTornadoRatingPathKilled
1971-02-07 13:35, as SPC files itSt. AugustineF313.1 mi0
1958-04-15 11:20, as SPC files itSt. AugustineF33.6 mi0

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Florida.

Every tornado record filed for St. Johns County (66)
The 60 most recent of 66 tornadoes in St. Johns County
DatePlaceCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-05-29 Sampson Church, St. Johns County EF0 1.61 mi x 15 yd 0 0 –
2024-04-11 Meldrim Park, St. Johns County EF1 6.7 mi x 310 yd 0 1 –
2024-04-03 Durbin, St. Johns County EF0 0.25 mi x 125 yd 0 0 –
2023-09-11 Riverdale, St. Johns County EF0 0.01 mi x 5 yd 0 0 $73K
2021-02-14 Bakersville, St. Johns County EF0 0.01 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2020-03-31 Palm Vly, St. Johns County EF0 0.39 mi x 704 yd 0 0 –
2019-12-14 Elkton, St. Johns County EF0 0.25 mi x 325 yd 0 0 –
2018-07-23 South Durbin, St. Johns County EF0 0.01 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2017-09-11 Summer Haven, St. Johns County EF2 1.2 mi x 300 yd 0 0 –
2017-09-10 Vilano Beach, St. Johns County EF1 1.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2017-09-10 Vilano Beach, St. Johns County EF1 4.99 mi x 200 yd 0 0 –
2017-06-06 Dupont Centre, St. Johns County EF1 2.21 mi x 70 yd 0 0 –
2017-05-24 Summer Haven, St. Johns County EFU 0.64 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
2017-02-07 Palmo, St. Johns County EF1 0.53 mi x 160 yd 0 0 –
2015-06-10 Elkton, St. Johns County EF0 0.78 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2013-07-21 Riverdale, St. Johns County EF0 0.05 mi x 20 yd 0 0 –
2013-05-04 Elkton, St. Johns County EF0 0.91 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $633K
2009-04-13 Crescent Beach, St. Johns County EF0 0.2 mi x 100 yd 0 0 –
2008-08-22 Bakersville, St. Johns County EF0 0.59 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2007-06-12 Summer Haven, St. Johns County EF0 1 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2007-04-15 Summer Haven, St. Johns County EF1 0.2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-26 Bakersville, St. Johns County F0 2 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-26 Palm Vly, St. Johns County F0 2 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-26 Fruit Cove, St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-26 Crescent Beach, St. Johns County F0 2 mi x 1 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-07 Durbin, St. Johns County F0 0.5 mi x 0 yd 0 0 –
2004-09-07 St Augustine, St. Johns County F0 0.5 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $78K
2004-09-06 Fruit Cove, St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $31K
2004-09-06 Fruit Cove, St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $8K
2004-09-06 Durbin, St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $94K
2004-09-05 Dupont Centre, St. Johns County F0 3 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $125K
2004-09-05 Fruit Cove, St. Johns County F0 5 mi x 0 yd 0 0 $23K
2002-07-19 Hastings, St. Johns County F0 0 0 $16K
2001-09-14 Summer Haven, St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2001-09-14 Summer Haven, St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
2001-09-14 Crescent Beach, St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1999-01-02 Tocoi, St. Johns County F0 5 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $7K
1997-02-13 Crescent Beach, St. Johns County F0 0.2 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $9K
1996-10-07 Hastings, St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $4K
1996-04-30 St Augustine Airport, St. Johns County F0 0.5 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $47K
1996-02-02 St Augustine, St. Johns County F0 3 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $15K
1995-06-12 St. Augustine, St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $48K
1995-04-24 Palatka, St. Johns County F2 10 mi x 350 yd 0 5 $2.1M
1994-09-25 S Ponte Vedra Beach, St. Johns County F0 0.25 mi x 25 yd 0 0 –
1992-04-11 St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1991-08-13 St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $250 step
1991-05-01 St. Johns County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $250K step
1991-04-23 St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $25K step
1990-06-03 St. Johns County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 –
1988-07-10 St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $3K step
1986-03-14 St. Johns County F0 1 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $3K step
1982-06-26 St. Johns County F0 0.5 mi x 7 yd 0 0 $3K step
1979-07-11 St. Johns County F1 0.1 mi x 30 yd 0 0 $25K step
1978-05-04 St. Johns County F0 0.2 mi x 10 yd 0 0 $3K step
1978-05-04 St. Johns County F0 0.1 mi x 13 yd 0 0 $25K step
1975-03-18 St. Johns County F2 1 mi x 100 yd 0 0 $250K step
1974-05-12 St. Johns County F1 2 mi x 50 yd 0 0 $3K step
1973-04-04 St. Johns County F2 4.1 mi x 67 yd 0 0 $250K step
1972-03-28 St. Johns County F0 0.5 mi x 20 yd 0 0 $250 step
1971-02-07 St. Johns County F3 13.1 mi x 200 yd 0 0 $250K step

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, 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 St. Johns County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 27, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($1,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

The 12 most recent records kept for St. Johns County
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-27 Thunderstorm WindHilden, St. Johns County 50 kt wind 0 0 $1K
2026-06-25 Thunderstorm WindPicolata, St. Johns County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-25 Thunderstorm WindDupont Centre, St. Johns County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-18 Thunderstorm WindMoultrie, St. Johns County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-06-18 Thunderstorm WindMoultrie, St. Johns County 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-05-12 Heavy RainSampson Church, St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Western St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Southern Inland St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Southeast Coastal St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Northern Inland St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-05-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Northeast Coastal St. Johns County 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtSt. Johns County · forecast zone Western St. Johns County 0 0 –

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

Records with deaths or injuries in St. Johns County, most deaths first
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2023-07-04 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns St Johns County Marine Rescue reported a rip current drowning about 1.5 miles north of the Fort Matanzas Beach access area. There were 3 others there were rescued and transported to a hospital. There was a large rip current in the area. Surf was about 1-2 feet and semi-choppy. NWS Jacksonville had a moderate rip ... 1 3 –
2023-07-01 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns St. Johns County Ocean Rescue received a call at 7 pm (guards are off duty at 6 pm) of two people drowning just north of Mickler's Landing in St. Johns County. One was a 42-year-old male and the other a juvenile. The adult was a fatality. The child was believed to be taken to the hospital. Responders reported rip ... 1 1 –
2023-04-06 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns Two swimmers were in distress about 1 mile south of St. Augustine Beach near the A Street beach access location. One swimmer was rescued by surfers. The 2nd victim become submerged. Surf heights were 1-2 feet. A moderately strong rip current was observed about 100 yards near where the persons entered the water. The ... 1 1 –
2024-10-13 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns A male drowned in a rip current on Sunday, 10/12 at Mickler's Landing. 1 0 –
2019-09-15 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns St. Johns County Ocean Rescue reported a make in his mid 20s drowned due to rip currents. Stated that seasoned lifeguards had trouble in the hazardous waters on that day. 1 0 –
2019-07-31 High SurfSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns A 22 year old male drowned due to surf, not rip currents. 1 0 –
2018-05-13 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns Ocean rescue and local media reported an 18 yr old male from Lowdes county GA drowned due to a rip current in St. Augustine Beach. The time of the fatality was unknown, but it occurred that afternoon per media reports. 1 0 –
2015-03-14 Rip CurrentSt. Johns County · forecast zone St. Johns A 32 year old male died in the surf. 1 0 –
The costliest records in St. Johns County since 1993, damage in 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2016-10-06 Tropical StormSt. Johns County · forecast zone St. Johns 0 0 $2.5B
2013-05-04 FloodPalm Vly, St. Johns County 0 0 $48M
2022-11-09 Tropical StormSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns 0 0 $34M
2024-10-09 Tropical StormSt. Johns County · forecast zone Coastal St. Johns 0 0 $10M
1999-09-15 Hurricane (Typhoon)St. Johns County · forecast zone St. Johns 0 0 $5.3M
1995-04-24 TornadoPalatka, St. Johns County F2 10 mi x 350 yd 0 5 $2.1M
2001-09-14 Flash FloodCountywide, St. Johns County 0 0 $1.5M
2004-06-26 LightningPonte Vedra, St. Johns County 0 0 $1.2M

Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 15, 1958 (tornado, St. Johns County); February 7, 1971 (tornado, St. Johns County); April 4, 1973 (tornado, St. Johns County).

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 St. Johns 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).

St. Johns County: records per decade (the 2020s to June 30, 2026)
Hazard1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020-26
Severe thunderstorm wind01413567610188
Hail003519423220
Heavy rain––––0123150
Floods––––6103435
Tornadoes33831319116
Lightning––––122229

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1964 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

The values, month by month

Jan 24 · Feb 41 · Mar 63 · Apr 69 · May 119 · Jun 166 · Jul 127 · Aug 113 · Sep 115 · Oct 62 · Nov 19 · Dec 19 (records).

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

Federal disaster declarations for St. Johns County

FEMA's register lists 34 declarations that include St. Johns County: 21 major disasters, 13 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (21) and tropical storm (4).

Declarations including St. Johns County, newest first
DeclaredNumberTypeTitle
2024-10-11DR-4834HurricaneHurricane Milton
2024-10-07EM-3622HurricaneHurricane Milton
2024-08-10DR-4806Tropical StormHurricane Debby
2024-08-03EM-3605Tropical StormTropical Storm Debby
2023-08-31DR-4734HurricaneHurricane Idalia
2023-08-28EM-3596Tropical StormTropical Storm Idalia
2022-12-13DR-4680HurricaneHurricane Nicole
2022-11-08EM-3587Tropical StormTropical Storm Nicole
2022-09-29DR-4673HurricaneHurricane Ian
2022-09-24EM-3584HurricaneTropical Storm Ian
2020-08-01EM-3533HurricaneHurricane Isaias
2020-03-25DR-4486BiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic
2020-03-13EM-3432BiologicalCovid-19
2019-10-21DR-4468HurricaneHurricane Dorian
2019-08-30EM-3419HurricaneHurricane Dorian
2017-09-10DR-4337HurricaneHurricane Irma
2017-09-05EM-3385HurricaneHurricane Irma
2016-10-08DR-4283HurricaneHurricane Matthew
2016-10-06EM-3377HurricaneHurricane Matthew
2008-08-24DR-1785Severe StormTropical Storm Fay
2008-08-21EM-3288Severe StormTropical Storm Fay
2005-09-05EM-3220HurricaneHurricane Katrina Evacuation
2004-09-26DR-1561HurricaneHurricane Jeanne
2004-09-16DR-1551HurricaneHurricane Ivan
2004-09-04DR-1545HurricaneHurricane Frances
2004-08-13DR-1539HurricaneTropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricane Charley
2001-09-28DR-1393Coastal StormSevere Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding Associated With Tropical Storm Gabrielle
2001-02-05DR-1359FreezingSevere Freeze
1999-09-22DR-1300HurricaneHurricane Floyd Major Disaster Declarations
1999-09-14EM-3143HurricaneHurricane Floyd Emergency Declarations
1998-06-18DR-1223FireExtreme Fire Hazard
1998-01-06DR-1195Severe StormSevere Storms, High Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding
1977-01-31DR-526FreezingSevere Winter Weather
1968-11-07DR-252HurricaneHurricane Gladys

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 St. Johns County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 85 flood or flash flood records for St. Johns County from 1996 to 2025, on 71 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), St. Johns County ranks 65th of 2,942 U.S. counties. The 100 counties with the most claims

Named storms on St. Johns County's flood and tropical record
StormBeganRecordsDeaths in the county
Hurricane Milton2024-10-0931
Hurricane Frances2004-09-1011
Hurricane Nicole2022-11-0910
Hurricane Matthew2016-10-0610
Tropical Storm Gabrielle2001-09-1410
Hurricane Floyd1999-09-1510

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $252 million on 7,639 claims filed in St. Johns County; the most in one year was 3,456 in 2016. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

The values, year by year

1978: 2 · 1979: 9 · 1981: 3 · 1982: 26 · 1983: 4 · 1984: 45 · 1985: 7 · 1986: 3 · 1987: 1 · 1988: 2 · 1989: 62 · 1990: 4 · 1991: 14 · 1992: 50 · 1993: 9 · 1994: 32 · 1995: 97 · 1996: 48 · 1997: 11 · 1998: 12 · 1999: 201 · 2000: 6 · 2001: 170 · 2002: 7 · 2003: 14 · 2004: 115 · 2005: 11 · 2006: 4 · 2007: 61 · 2008: 63 · 2009: 34 · 2010: 6 · 2011: 23 · 2012: 45 · 2013: 44 · 2014: 9 · 2015: 13 · 2016: 3,456 · 2017: 1,723 · 2018: 17 · 2019: 20 · 2020: 36 · 2021: 18 · 2022: 1,001 · 2023: 20 · 2024: 71 · 2025: 8 · 2026: 2; the other years: 0.

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 St. Johns County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. Johns County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $97.0 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.

National Risk Index ratings for St. Johns County (December 2025 release), by FEMA's rating, then score
HazardRisk ratingExpected annual lossModeled frequency
HurricaneRelatively High$23Monce in about 4 years (modeled)
LightningRelatively High$2.0M69 a year (modeled)
Coastal FloodingRelatively High$7.8M2.9 a year (modeled)
Riverine FloodingRelatively Moderate$51M1.5 a year (modeled)
WildfireRelatively Moderate$1.8Monce in about 471 years (modeled)
TornadoRelatively Moderate$7.6Monce in about 2 years (modeled)
Heat WaveRelatively Moderate$2.4M3.8 modeled event-days a year
Strong WindRelatively Low$574Kabout once a year (modeled)

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with St. Johns County

  1. Duval County 1,985
  2. St. Johns County 937
  3. Flagler County 936
  4. Putnam County 730
  5. Clay County 664

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

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