Sarasota County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 Sarasota$2.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   The highest wind reported in Sarasota County from Hurricane Ian was a gust to 109 mph at Tarpon Point at 12:56 PM EST on September 28. Rainfall generally ranged from 8 to 12 inches over the northern third of the county, to 15 to 20 inches across central and southern locations, where a maximum total of 21.45 inches was reported northeast of Northport. The Myakka river at Myakka River State Park reached a record level of 12.84 feet on October 1 at 11:45 PM EST, and area flooding prompted closure of Interstate 75 and offramps near heaviest affected flooding locations. There were 8 fatalities directly attributed to Hurricane Ian by the medical examiner.

2. Aug 13, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Sarasota$32.4 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…

3. Jan 17, 2016Tornado$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS Storm Survey crew found damage to multiple homes and structures along the path of the tornado. One home on Siesta Key had the second floor collapse on to the first. Two people were injured in that home. The tornado was 350 yards wide as it came ashore on Siesta Key before narrowing to around 100 yards wide as it crossed the intercoastal waterways.

4. Jun 11, 2024Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sarasota County Emergency Management reported multiple cars partially inundated in flood waters with water also entering some business structures at the lowest levels in St Armands Circle. No injuries reported.

5. Jun 21, 2003Flood, Sarasota$9.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Myakka River at Myakka State Park recorded a record high crest of 12.46 feet on June 24th. The flood stage is 7 feet. One of the hardest hit areas was in the Hidden River neighborhood in far eastern Sarasota County. A 25 foot levy gave way causing $5.6 million in damage to 119 homes and $750,000 to roads and infrastructure. North Port received $1.3 million in damage with six homes destroyed, 21 homes with major damage, and 1318 homes or commercial structures impacted in the Estates area. In addition, 291 streets impassable for several days.

6. Sep 10, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Inland Sarasota$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In inland portions of Sarasota County, winds from Hurricane Irma were estimated to be around 60 to 70 knots using surrounding observations. Rainfall was generally around 5 inches or greater. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Sarasota Emergency Management reported that 4 homes sustained major damage, 10 had minor damage, and 438 were affected. The total property damage from Irma in Sarasota County was estimated at $10.73 million, including $2.47 million in individual assistance claims and $8.26 million in public assistance claims.

7. Sep 25, 2004Tropical Storm, Sarasota$6.4 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…

8. Sep 1, 2016Storm Surge/Tide, Coastal Sarasota$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge along Sarasota County Beaches generally only reached 2-3 feet above normal high tide, but was estimated to cause $4 million in damage from beach erosion at Lido Beach and Turtle Beach.

9. Sep 10, 2017Hurricane (Typhoon), Coastal Sarasota$2.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In coastal portions of Sarasota County, the highest wind reported from Hurricane Irma was a gust to 70 knots at the home weather station AP859 in Sarasota during the evening on the 10th. Rainfall was generally around 4 inches or greater, with the highest rain total of 10.32 inches at the CWOP station C7986 in Laurel. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Sarasota Emergency Management reported that 4 homes sustained major damage, 10 had minor damage, and 438 were affected. The total property damage from Irma in Sarasota County was estimated at $10.73 million, including $2.47 million in individual assistance claims and $8.26…

10. Oct 7, 1996Tropical Storm, Sarasota$2.7 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.…

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

105°FJun 5, 1985

All-time low

18°F2 times, most recently Jan 13, 1981

Warmest night

85°F2 times, most recently Sep 19, 2006

Coldest day

42°FDec 24, 1989

Wettest day

19.02 inSep 28, 2022

Hottest year

2015mean 76.0°F

Coldest year

1963mean 70.3°F

Wettest year

199582.31 in

Driest year

195536.46 in

Station Myakka Rvr Sp (USC00086065), 19 ft elevation, 6.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1956 to August 31, 2026; 96.4% 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 USC00086065.
• 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.