Charlotte County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Charlotte County: 2.
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.

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 13, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Charlotte$3.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The collective effects of Hurricane Charley in southwest and west central Florida during August 13th resulted in 8 direct fatalities, 16 indirect fatalities, 792 injuries, eight tornadoes, an eight foot storm surge in Lee County, an estimated $11.2 billion in property damage (estimated to be about twice that of the insured damage), and $460 million in crop damage. The fast movement of Hurricane Charley limited rain fall totals to 4 to 6 inches along the track of the hurricane's eye wall. River flooding of one to three feet above flood stage was found on area rivers south of Interstate 4. Hurricane Charley, a powerful but compact Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane…

2. Sep 28, 2022Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Charlotte$3.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The highest wind reported in Charlotte County from Hurricane Ian was a gust to 111 mph near Grove city at 3:26 PM EST on September 28. Rainfall generally ranged from 5 to 10 inches over the eastern half of the county, to 15 to 25 inches across western and coastal locations, where an event-maximum total of 26.95 inches was reported near Grove City. Initial assessments reported over 200 homes destroyed; however, assessments remain ongoing, with additional structures likely damaged or destroyed. There were 8 fatalities directly attributed to Hurricane Ian by the medical examiner.

3. Sep 10, 2017Storm Surge/Tide, Coastal Charlotte$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   County emergency management reported that sea walls collapsed when water left the Charlotte Harbor during the negative storm surge ahead of the storm, causing an estimated $20 million in damage. Timing was estimated by using the nearby tide gauge in Fort Myers, where the negative surge bottomed out at around -4 feet MLLW at around 1800EST on the 10th, then surged to a positive surge of just over 3 feet at about 0500EST on the 11th, before slowly receding through the rest of the day.||Charlotte county emergency management reported that the negative surge caused sea walls to collapse, causing an estimated $20 million in public assistance claims.

4. Sep 10, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Charlotte$17.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In coastal portions of Charlotte County, the highest wind reported from Hurricane Irma was a gust to 64 knots at the ASOS at Punta Gorda Airport during the early evening on the 10th. Rainfall was generally around 5 inches or greater, with the highest rain total being 8.08 inches at the CoCoRaHS station FL-CH-13 in Port Charlotte. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Charlotte County Emergency Management reported that 5 homes or businesses sustained major damage and an additional 200 were affected by hurricane Irma throughout Charlotte County.||The total property damage from Irma in Charlotte County was estimated at $43…

5. Sep 5, 2004Tropical Storm, Charlotte$7.3 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. Jun 22, 2003Flash Flood$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain flooded 40 homes with 6-12 inches of water in the residential areas of Punta Gorda. Also, 10,000 feet of a sea wall worth $2 million collapsed in Punta Gorda Isles and roads erosion closed two areas along County Road 74 near Westminster Road and Grove Blvd. Rainfall totals over the past three days totalled 9.49 inches in Point Lonesome and 8.35 inches 8 miles southeast of Punta Gorda.

7. Jun 24, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, Charlotte$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Charlotte Harbor, storm surge reached the top of a boat ramp and flooded a picnic area. Damage to county beaches from erosion was estimated at $2.5 million.

8. Sep 25, 2004Tropical Storm, Charlotte$2.3 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…

9. Sep 6, 2004Storm Surge/Tide, Charlotte$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical storm force winds from the southwest produced tides one to five feet above normal from New Port Richey south to Punta Gorda as Hurricane Frances moved northwest just north of downtown Tampa. One foot of water was found in downtown Punta Gorda as tides in Charlotte Harbor reached five feet above normal. Tides were two to three feet above normal elsewhere and produced moderate beach erosion from Venice to Clearwater and flooding low lying homes near downtown Saint Petersburg.

10. Feb 24, 2016Tornado$1.6 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    A NWS Storm Survey found EF-1 tornado damage with winds estimated near 100 mph. 108 homes were affected with most of the damage limited to roofs and pool cages. However, 11 sustained major damage and were deemed uninhabitable by the county, one of which was destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped with at least 8 different vehicles picked up and moved.

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

101°F3 times, most recently Jun 5, 2024

All-time low

25°FJan 5, 2001

Warmest night

84°FAug 7, 2024

Coldest day

47°F3 times, most recently Dec 25, 2022

Wettest day

5.70 inSep 5, 2003

Hottest year

2024mean 77.0°F

Coldest year

2010mean 71.6°F

Wettest year

200364.87 in

Driest year

200730.01 in

Station Punta Gorda Charlotte County Airport (USW00012812), 20 ft elevation, 8.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1996 to October 26, 2026; 98.3% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00012812.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, 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.
• 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.