Orange County, Florida severe weather history spans 752 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 41.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #342 nationally and #14 in Florida.
752
Recorded events
11
Direct deaths
210
Direct injuries
$287.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Orange County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Orange County, Florida severe weather history averages 9.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 194 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 635 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Orange County, Florida record is tornado, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $221.0M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Orange County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 315 | 2 | $4.3M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 273 | 0 | $60K | 3 | 1960–2024 |
| Tornado | 70 | 4 | $37.1M | F3 | 1950–2025 |
| Lightning | 41 | 4 | $5.0M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 26 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $20.0M | 0 | 2001–2021 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $221.0M | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Heat | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Orange County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
69 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 63 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-04-04 | EF4 | 11 | 530 | 135.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-02-22 | EF3 | 25 | 150 | 28.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-02-22 | EF3 | 3 | 70 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-03-19 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-03-12 | EF2 | 1 | 60 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-04-02 | EF2 | 1 | 9 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-02 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-01-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-01-08 | EF2 | 0 | 23 | 19.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Orange County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 1998 | Tornado | WINTER GARDEN | 3 | 70 | $15.0M |
| Aug 16, 1998 | Lightning | ORLANDO | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 1959 | Tornado | 1 | 9 | $250K | |
| Aug 25, 2004 | Lightning | OCOEE | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2000 | Lightning | ORLANDO | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | KILLARNEY | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 1, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | (ORL)ORLANDO EXEC AR | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 1997 | Heat | ORLANDO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Lake County tornado moved into Orange County about 5 miles southwest of Winter Garden moving northeast at 45 mph. It rapidly intensified to a category F3 tornado with estimated winds near 200 mph. The tornado moved through Winter Garden between 11:47 pm and 11:55 pm destroying a mobile home community in Winter Garden. There were three fatalities and 70 injuries. Five hundred structures were either damaged or destroyed.
The ASOS at Orlando Executive Airport, KORL, measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph from a severe thunderstorm. These winds flipped over two small planes at the airport. One plane was unoccupied when it was flipped near a hanger on the airport. A second plane that had two people onboard was flipped as it was taxiing on the main runway. When first responders arrived they found one man had died from his injuries at the scene, and the other man was transported to Orlando Medical Regional Center with serious injuries.
A high temperature of 97 degrees was recorded at Orlando International Airport. This was only six degrees above normal, but the heat claimed one life. A 22 year old man was found unconscious a parking lot laying on the hot asphalt. He was taken to a hospital where his internal temperature was recorded at 106 degrees. He died later that day.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,471,937
Population (ACS)
$390K
Median home value
39
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | DR |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | EM |
| Aug 10, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR |
| Aug 3, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM |
| Aug 31, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR |
| Aug 28, 2023 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM IDALIA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Orlando 126
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Orange County, Florida?
752 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 11 direct deaths and $287.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Orange County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 315 recorded events — 41.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Orange County?
69 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 63 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Orange County?
39 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Orange County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Orange County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Orange County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 98 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Orange County, Florida severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Okeechobee County 138
- Osceola County 277
- Okaloosa County 579
- Palm Beach County 1,094
- Nassau County 480
- Pasco County 567
Cite this page
“Orange County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/orange-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.