Manatee County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

High tide flooding

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.

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. Sep 28, 2022Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Manatee$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The highest wind reported in Manatee County from Hurricane Ian was a wind gust to 86 mph at the Sarasota Bradenton international airport at 5:10 PM EST on September 28. Rainfall generally ranged from 5 to 10 inches over the western half of the county, to 10 to 15 inches across eastern and southeastern locations, where a maximum total of 15.03 inches was reported east of Myakka Head. The Manatee River near Myakka Head reached its second highest level of 19.33 feet on September 29 at 6:45 AM EST, and at Rye bridge reached its third highest level of 17.19 feet on September 29 at 5:30 AM EST. A new record low water level was set at Port Manatee where the observed minimum of -2.39 feet…

2. Sep 10, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Manatee$15.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In coastal portions of Manatee County, winds from Hurricane Irma were estimated to be around 60 to 70 knots based on surrounding observations. The highest wind gust reported in coastal Manatee County was 61 knots at the ASOS at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. Rainfall was generally around 5 inches or greater, with the highest rain total being 6.86 inches at the GOES station LWDF1 in Lake Ward. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Manatee County Emergency Management reported that 14 homes or businesses were destroyed, 170 sustained major damage, 196 had minor damage, and an additional 2061 were affected by…

3. Sep 25, 2004Tropical Storm, Manatee$10.4 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…

4. Nov 11, 2020Tropical Storm, Coastal Manatee$10.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Manatee County the highest wind reported from Hurricane Eta was a gust of 54 mph at the ASOS site at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Rainfall was generally above 5 inches, with the highest rain total being 8.10 inches at a site in South Bradenton. The wind and salt water flooding resulted in some homes being damaged, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. There was also significant beach erosion along barrier island from Anna Maria Island to Long Key. Manatee County Emergency Management reported 6 homes with major damage, 27 homes with minor damage, and 99 other homes being affected. An EF-0 tornado was also found to have briefly touched down near Myakka…

5. Aug 13, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Manatee$8.2 million
   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…

6. Sep 5, 2004Tropical Storm, Manatee$6.4 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…

7. Jun 24, 2012Storm Surge/Tide, Manatee$5.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tide gauge at Port Manatee measured a peak tide of 4.43 feet MLLW on the afternoon of the 24th. Subtracting the predicted astronomical tide, the highest storm surge was calculated as 3.26 feet late in the evening of the 25th.||Storm Surge on Anna Maria Island flooded streets and brought the water level up to the foundations of several houses. Around noon on the 24th, water was flowing over the narrow part of Anna Maria Island from the Gulf of Mexico to the Intercoastal. Marina Drive in Holmes Beach reopened Monday morning, but there was still 8 inches of water covering the roadway during the morning commute.||Damage to county beaches from erosion was estimated at $5.9 million.

8. Oct 7, 1996Tropical Storm, Manatee$4.9 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.…

9. Sep 1, 2016Storm Surge/Tide, Coastal Manatee$4.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge along Manatee County Beaches generally only reached 2-3 feet above normal high tide, but was estimated to cause $4.25 million in damage from beach erosion.

10. Mar 14, 1999Lightning$3.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning ignited a fire that caused 3.5 million dollars worth of damage to the three story Playa Encantada Apartment building on the 6000 block of Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.

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°FAug 9, 2023

All-time low

20°FDec 26, 1983

Warmest night

84°FJun 23, 2009

Coldest day

41°FJan 20, 1977

Wettest day

11.65 inAug 26, 2017

Hottest year

2023mean 76.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 70.4°F

Wettest year

199778.33 in

Driest year

202538.10 in

Station Bradenton 5 Ese (USC00080945), 17 ft elevation, 3.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1965 to October 18, 2026; 94.0% 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 USC00080945.
• 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.
• 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.