Clearwater

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Pinellas County, the county that contains Clearwater.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Pinellas County, the county that contains Clearwater.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

High tide flooding

Tide gauges in Pinellas County.

Other tide gauges here: Clearwater Beach (record 7 days, 2023).

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Pinellas County, the county that contains Clearwater.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Tsunamis

Tsunami records for Pinellas County.

1. Places where NOAA's Global Historical Tsunami Database records a tsunami's water arriving, with the greatest height it reached above sea level at the time. Only tsunamis NOAA rates probable or definite are counted. Heights from eyewitness accounts and tide gauges are mixed, and older events are less completely recorded.

NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 10, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Pinellas$594 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Pinellas County, the highest winds reported from Hurricane Irma was a gust to 77 knots at Pier 60 Park. Rainfall was generally around 4 inches or greater, with the highest rain total 5.98 inches at the the GOES station BTRF1 in Tarpon Springs. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Pinellas County Emergency Management reported that 77 homes or businesses were destroyed, 533 sustained major damage, 5761 had minor damage, and an additional 11,935 were affected by hurricane Irma throughout Pinellas County. ||The track of Irma resulted in a much stronger negative surge north of the eye, causing extremely low water levels in…

2. Sep 28, 2022Tropical Storm, Pinellas$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The highest wind reported in Pinellas County from Hurricane Ian was a gust to 77 mph in Saint Petersburg at 3:46 PM EST on September 28. Rainfall generally ranged between 1.5 and 4 inches, with a maximum total of 3.34 inches at Albert Whitted Airport. 31 homes received major damage and another 86 reported minor damage. Offshore winds caused below normal tides of 4 feet on the gulf side of barrier islands, and up to 5 feet below normal in Tampa Bay near St. Petersburg, where the minimum reported water level of -3.94 feet below MLLW at 2:12 AM EST surpassed the previous minimum of -3.72 feet below MLLW, set during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

3. Oct 9, 2024Hurricane (Typhoon), Pinellas$43.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 80 to 100 mph, with a maximum gust of 101 mph at Albert Whitted Airport at 9:29 PM EST on October 9. Rainfall generally ranged from 10 to 15 inches with a few pockets of 15 to 20 inches over southern and southeastern parts of the county, with a maximum total of 20.4 inches observed near St. Petersburg. Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG) shattered its previous 1-day total rainfall amount with 18.54 inches recorded on October 9, nearly tripling the previous record of 6.93 inches set on September 14, 2001 in association with Tropical Storm Gabrielle. Site records date back to 1998. St. Petersburg-Clearwater International…

4. Nov 11, 2020Tropical Storm, Pinellas$40.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Pinellas County the highest wind reported from Hurricane Eta was a gust of 60 mph at the weather flow site on Clearwater Beach. Rainfall was generally above 5 inches with the highest rain total being 9.11 inches at a site in St. Petersburg. The wind resulted in many homes being damaged, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. There was also significant beach erosion along southwest facing beaches from Redington Shore to Pass-a-Grill. Pinellas County Emergency Management reported 88 homes with major damage, 621 homes with minor damage, and 1,496 other homes being affected. The total property damage by Eta in Pinellas County was estimated at $40.1 million. The maximum…

5. Sep 5, 2004Tropical Storm, Pinellas$32.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Frances made landfall just after midnight on September 5th near Vero Beach as a Category 2 storm. The hurricane continued to move slowly west northwestward across central Florida to near Bartow by 2 pm, and just northeast of Tampa by 8 pm, when it was downgraded to a tropical storm. It then emerged back into the Gulf of Mexico near Hudson shortly before midnight. Hurricane Frances took almost 24 hours to move through the Florida peninsula. Frances continued northwestward through the northern gulf of Mexico, making a second landfall on the afternoon of September 6th in the Florida big bend near Tallahassee as a tropical storm. In Lee County the observation at Big Carlos…

6. Sep 26, 2004Tropical Storm, Pinellas$29.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Jeanne followed the nearly the same path across Florida as Hurricane Frances three weeks earlier and was the unprecedented fourth hurricane to damage Florida during the 2004 hurricane season. The hurricane moved ashore along the east coast of Florida near Stuart late on September 25th with an eye 30 to 40 miles across. Jeanne took a course north of Lake Okeechobee and decreased to a tropical storm in easter Polk County around 9 AM EDT on the 26th. The center of Jeanne curved north of Tampa Bay during the afternoon and traveled north along the coastal counties before exiting north through Levy County around 10 PM. In Hillsborough County the observation from the Vandenburg…

7. Oct 7, 1996Tropical Storm, Pinellas$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Josephine moved northeast across the Gulf of Mexico and brought low to moderate range tropical storm force winds to mainly coastal areas of West Central and Southwest Florida. Maximum sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts as high as 71 mph were observed at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at the mouth of Tampa Bay.Tropical Storm Josephine moved onshore in the Big Bend area of Florida and caused storm surges of 8 to 9 feet at Cedar Key in Levy county shortly after midnight on the 8th. Storm surges of 4 to 6 feet were common from Citrus county south to the Tampa Bay metro area. Storm surges of 2 to 4 feet were common from Anna Maria Island in Manatee county south to Ft.…

8. Dec 16, 2020Tornado$16.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado formed near Bayou Club near Pinellas Park, then crossed Belcher Road and hit an industrial park where the greatest damage was observed. Buildings had uplift and removal of roof decking, outer walls collapsed. Two buildings were destroyed and five had major|damage. Several buildings in a boat storage facility had major damage and large 2-ton boats where thrown about. The damage became more spotty as it approached U.S. Highway 19. Insulation debris collected on a fence near the Saint Pete/Clearwater International Airport. Video on social media showed the tornado crossing the Howard Franklin Bridge (Interstate 275) with debris and a light pole dropping in front of the…

9. Oct 27, 1997Tornado$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near State Road 699 (Gulf Boulevard) and 6th Avenue, moved northeast and dissipated near the intersection of County Road 590 and Old Coachman Road. The tornado left thousands of electrical customers without power, knocked down numerous trees, caused several roofs to collapse and shattered windows from Indian Rocks Beach northeast through Largo and primarily in Clearwater.Damage from the tornado totalled $4.5 million dollars. From Indian Rocks Beach, through Largo to Clearwater, 190 buildings received damage from the tornado. Four million dollars of the damage occurred to properties in Clearwater, $300,000 in Indian Rocks Beach, and $200,000 in Largo.The…

10. Jul 4, 2005Lightning$4.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning started a fire that destroyed a $4 million home in Belleair Shore. The lightning struck around 4 AM EDT but the fire grew slowly and wasn't noticed until 545 AM when smoke began pouring out of the attic. Firefighters did their best to save the home but only the shell of the home remained.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

100°FJul 27, 2025

All-time low

18°FDec 13, 1962

Warmest night

85°F2 times, most recently Aug 27, 2011

Coldest day

38°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

11.45 inMay 8, 1979

Snowiest day

0.2 inJan 19, 1977

Hottest year

2022mean 76.4°F

Coldest year

1968mean 69.8°F

Wettest year

202480.29 in

Driest year

195628.89 in

Snowiest season

0.2 in1976-77

Station Tampa International Airport (USW00012842), 6 ft elevation, 14.2 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 27, 2026; 99.9% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Pinellas County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00012842.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tsunamis NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Historical Tsunami Database.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.