PlainHazard

Florida drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 42 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,514 drought records in Florida from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 62 a year since 2000. The costliest was the May 1, 2001 drought ($167 million in 2025 dollars). Florida ranks 18th of 51 states and territories by count and 24th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Florida, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,5141996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
62average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$167Mas filed
Busiest year
2026401 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Florida?

Florida averages about 62 drought records a year since 2000, 18th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2026 (401). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Florida records 282 drought records since 1996, 24th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 24. Florida 282

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Florida have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Holmes County leads Florida: 42 days with a drought record since 1996, 87.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Palm Beach County has the most drought records (119 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Holmes County 87.7 (42)
  2. Glades County 68.2 (55)
  3. Gadsden County 65.8 (34)
  4. Washington County 65.0 (38)
  5. Jefferson County 55.2 (54)
  6. Gulf County 52.4 (51)
  7. Leon County 50.9 (47)
  8. Wakulla County 49.5 (52)
  9. Calhoun County 49.4 (28)
  10. Madison County 48.8 (34)
  11. Jackson County 46.8 (43)
  12. Hendry County 46.7 (54)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Florida?

Florida's drought records by month. The busiest month is May (215 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 139 · Feb 163 · Mar 156 · Apr 198 · May 215 · Jun 160 · Jul 56 · Aug 53 · Sep 57 · Oct 89 · Nov 113 · Dec 115 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Florida

Florida: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2001-05-01 DroughtPalm Beach County · forecast zone Inland Palm Beach 0 0 $167M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Florida?

Florida's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Florida and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeFloridaUnited StatesFlorida's share
1996-9905,6000
2000s15618,5710.8%
2010s61031,4411.9%
2020-2674830,1472.5%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Florida

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-06-01 DroughtMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Metropolitan Miami-Dade 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtPalm Beach County · forecast zone Metro Palm Beach County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtBroward County · forecast zone Metro Broward County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtMonroe County · forecast zone Mainland Monroe 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtPalm Beach County · forecast zone Inland Palm Beach County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Inland Miami-Dade 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtCollier County · forecast zone Inland Collier County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtBroward County · forecast zone Inland Broward County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtHendry County · forecast zone Hendry 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtGlades County · forecast zone Glades 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtMiami-Dade County · forecast zone Far South Miami-Dade County 0 0 –
2026-06-01 DroughtPalm Beach County · forecast zone Coastal Palm Beach County 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Next