Sumter County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Feb 2, 2007Tornado$62.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down near the southeast corner of The Villages south of Lake Miona and moved rapidly to the east northeast at 55 MPH into Lake County. A FEMA report to Sumter County emergency management officials detailed damage to 1,145 homes with 200 destroyed during the 6 minutes the tornado was on the ground. A National Weather Service storm survey estimated maximum winds of 140 MPH. No fatalities were recorded in Sumter County and 15 injuries is a rough estimate.

2. Sep 10, 2017Tropical Storm, Sumter$18.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Sumter County, winds from Hurricane Irma were estimated to be around 40-60 knots, with the highest wind reported being a gust to 53 knots at the CWOP station D5322 in The Villages. Rainfall was generally around 8 inches or greater, with the highest rain total being 11.34 inches at a mesonet station in Compressco. The wind resulted in damage to numerous homes and businesses, as well as knocking over trees and power lines. Sumter County Emergency Management reported that 5 homes or businesses were destroyed by Irma, 27 sustained major damage, and 688 had minor damage.||The total damage in Sumter County was estimated at $19 million, which included $5 million in individual…

3. Sep 5, 2004High Wind, Sumter$8.4 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. The damage totals listed were caused by trees…

4. Sep 25, 2004Strong Wind, Sumter$6.0 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 eastern Polk County around 9 AM EDT on the 26th. The center of Jeanne curved north of Tampa Bay during the afternoon and travelled north along the coastal counties before exiting north through Levy County around 10 PM. In Highlands County there were 140 homes destroyed and…

5. Oct 9, 2024Tropical Storm, Sumter$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 40 to 50 mph, with a maximum gust of 46 mph near Center Hill at 9:05 PM EST on October 9. Rainfall ranged from 5 to 10 inches, with an isolated maximum total of 11.71 inches near Lady Lake. Flooding occurred along the Withlacoochee River for several weeks following the event. $2 to 4 Million in damages were reported.

6. Jun 15, 2014Lightning$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A local newspaper relayed a report of a lightning strike to a home in the Villages. The home sustained substantial damage. No one was home when the strike occurred and no injuries or fatalities resulted.

7. Sep 1, 2016Tropical Storm, Sumter$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hermine formed in the Florida Straits south of Key West on August 28th. It remained a very disorganized tropical depression for a few days before the environment around it gradually became more favorable and it became a tropical storm late in the day on the 30th. Hurricane Hermine made landfall just east of St. Marks, Florida around 0130EDT on September 2 as a Category 1 Hurricane with a minimum central pressure of 982 mb, and maximum sustained winds estimated at 70 knots (80 MPH). Heavy rainfall over West-Central and Southwest Florida began on August 31 and continued through September 2, with as much as 20 inches of rain falling in some locations. River flooding from this heavy…

8. Sep 28, 2022Tropical Storm, Sumter$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Sumter County, maximum winds were estimated between 50 and 65 mph in gusts. Rainfall generally ranged from 2 to 4 inches, with a maximum total of 3.42 inches near Lady Lake. Minor flooding was reported in low-lying areas near Webster. Minor damage to homes was reported in The Villages.

9. Apr 23, 1997Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down along State Road 44 west of U.S. Highway 301 and damaged up to 24 buildings in the city of Wildwood. The tornado touched down on the Wildwood High School and caused roof and window damage. Numerous trees were uprooted and power lines downed by the tornado before it lifted and dissipated.

10. Aug 12, 2009Lightning$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck a house and caused a fire that destroyed the entire home.

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 Jul 31, 2025

All-time low

16°F3 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Jun 20, 1984

Coldest day

35°F4 times, most recently Jan 10, 2010

Wettest day

7.20 inSep 15, 2001

Hottest year

1990mean 73.2°F

Coldest year

2010mean 68.3°F

Wettest year

195967.58 in

Driest year

200029.26 in

Station Lisbon (USC00085076), 68 ft elevation, 14.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1958 to October 27, 2026; 95.3% 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 USC00085076.
• 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.