Clay County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Clay County: 0.
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.

River crests

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.

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.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 29, 2001Tornado$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado was mainly F0-F1. Large trees were uprooted and power lines were blown down. Two homes were destroyed, 4 with major damage, and 50 with minor damage. A total of 56 homes in the Highlands Avenue area were damaged.

2. Jun 9, 2018Lightning$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 67 year old male was struck by lightning on his front porch along Acadia Street in Keystone Heights, near Lake Geneva. The time of the event was based on lightning data. Shed was burned down which caused over $1M in damage to vintage cars and motorcycles.

3. Mar 1, 1998Flood, Clay$370,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Total flooding related to El Nino, More than 2800 homes and more than 175 businesses destroyed.

4. May 1, 2026Wildfire, Eastern Clay$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On April 19, 2026 around 530 PM EDT, Clay County EM reported a 100 acre wildfire in Green Cove Springs which grew quickly to become the Crews Rd Fire. On April 21st, the Florida Forest Service decided to combine the Crews Rd Fire in southeast Clay County and the Railroad Fire in northeast Putnam County into the Railroad Complex Fire. On May 1st, the Railroad Complex fire was at 4,796 acres with 80% containment per the Florida Forest Service. On May 6th, the fire was 4,796 acres and 95% containment. On April 29th, the fire was 4,796 acres with 100% containment. The Railroad Complex Fire was officially closed on June 3rd.

5. Apr 19, 2026Wildfire, Eastern Clay$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   On April 19, 2026 around 530 PM EDT, Clay County EM reported a 100 acre wildfire in Green Cove Springs with 0% containment. Evacuations occurred at Varney Rd and Woodward Rd due to the wildfires located along Crews Rd in Clay County and north of Bostwick in Putnam County. The wildfires were 1700 acres combined between the two counties. On April 20 at 6 PM EDT, Florida Highway Patrol reported a Road Closure of US-17 and Varney Rd due to the ongoing Wildfire in Green Cove Springs. US-17 reopened later that evening. On April 21st, the Florida Forest Service decided to combine the Crews Rd Fire in southeast Clay County and the Railroad Fire in northeast Putnam County into the Railroad…

6. Jul 31, 2023Lightning$240,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a home attic in Orange Park during the afternoon which resulted in a fire. Extensive damage occurred to the home and the structure was deemed uninhabitable. The cost of damage was unknown, but it was estimated for inclusion of the event in Storm Data.

7. Jun 10, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large tree through roof of house on Lakefield Lane in Plainfield section of Orange Park. Live oak snapped in half on Dogwood Lane near Doctors Lake. Source Clay Today 6/11/03.

8. Aug 12, 2011Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning started a house fire off of Trail Ridge Road in the Two Creeks Subdivision. The time of the strike was unknown, but the most frequent lightning that impacted the area occurred between 0530 pm and 7 pm LST. The cost of damage was estimated.

9. Jun 26, 2012Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At 6:45 pm, an NWS employee reported 1 foot of standing water over the I-295 and Blanding Blvd exit in Orange Park. At 6:46 pm, the public reported street flooding near Whitey's Fish Camp, about 2 feet deep. At 7:08 pm, the public reported around 1 foot of standing water near Blanding Blvd and Tanglewood in the Lakeside area. At 7:15 pm, the public reported over a foot of standing water at Timbermill Lane and Timberlake Drive. Water was over-flowing out of the storm drain. At 8:20 pm, the public reported flood water coming up to home porches near Bradford and Old Kings Road on the Jacksonville Southside. At 8:30 pm, the public reported a retention pond overflowed and water was…

10. Oct 7, 1996Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A steady rain producing 6-8 inches of rainfall from a Nor'easter and Tropical Storm Josephine caused flooding mainly over central Clay County in the Middleburg area. The rain brought both the North and South prongs of Black Creek several feet above its banks. The water flooded Main Street, Scenic Drive, Cornell Road and Lazy Acre Road. About a dozen families left their homes to seek shelter with friends, relatives or hotels. A few roads did wash out. A creek near Bluejay drive, off County Road 218, overflowed and washed the road out.

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

104°FJun 19, 1998

All-time low

9°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

84°FAug 24, 2016

Coldest day

31°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

6.28 inMay 20, 1959

Snowiest day

0.9 inDec 23, 1989

Hottest year

2015mean 75.6°F

Coldest year

1981mean 66.5°F

Wettest year

199172.20 in

Driest year

199024.77 in

Station Jacksonville NAS (USW00093837), 20 ft elevation, 12.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1945 to October 26, 2026; 89.9% 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.

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 USW00093837.
• 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.