Broward County, Florida severe weather history spans 1,172 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 32.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #83 nationally and #4 in Florida.
1,172
Recorded events
33
Direct deaths
210
Direct injuries
$168.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Broward County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Broward County, Florida severe weather history averages 16.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 339 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 144 events fall before 1990 and 1,028 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Broward County, Florida record is lightning, responsible for 18 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $82.9M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Broward County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 385 | 0 | $1.5M | 113 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 210 | 0 | $2K | 3 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 146 | 1 | $81.6M | F3 | 1954–2024 |
| Lightning | 133 | 18 | $2.4M | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 94 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flood | 75 | 0 | $96K | 0 | 2001–2025 |
| Waterspout | 46 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $82.9M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 22 | 0 | $307K | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Rip Current | 21 | 14 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Wildfire | 5 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1999–2001 |
Decade by decade
Broward County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
145 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 141 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-03-01 | EF3 | 1 | 33 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-02-23 | EF3 | 0 | 6 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-10 | EF3 | 0 | 20 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-10-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-02-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1983-03-17 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 52.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1979-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-03-04 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-10-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Broward County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 2000 | Lightning | COCONUT CREEK | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 2, 1980 | Tornado | 1 | 33 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 2, 2001 | Lightning | FT LAUDERDALE | 1 | 7 | $0 |
| Apr 12, 2002 | Rip Current | FT LAUDERDALE | 1 | 6 | $0 |
| May 16, 2018 | Lightning | BOCA RATON | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Oct 5, 2005 | Lightning | COCONUT CREEK | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| May 13, 2004 | Rip Current | LAUDERDALE BY THE SE | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Dec 20, 1998 | Rip Current | POMPANO BEACH | 1 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A 55 year-old man was struck by lightning while carrying a weed wacker in the area of 7400 NW 4th place in Margate. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, and died from his injuries on Friday, June 15th.
Multiple members of media reported two men were struck by lightning at a construction site at the Pines City Center in Pembroke Pines. A 34-year-old man was struck directly while the other indirectly. Both men were taken to a local area hospital. The man who was struck directly had entry and exit wounds and was given CPR by other construction workers before rescue crews arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he died. The other man who was struck indirectly complained of numbness and was transported to the hospital where he was later released.||Time of the report is when the call was received by 911, and archived data showed lightning in that area around the time of the call.
Broadcast media relayed a report of two male construction workers struck by lightning from a thunderstorm just northwest of their location while working on a roof of a auto dealership at 909 South Federal Highway in Pompano Beach. Both men were transported to a local hospital. One of them, a 55-year-old, was in critical condition. He died from his injuries a few days later on Monday, June 2nd.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,977,129
Population (ACS)
$415K
Median home value
43
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | DR |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | EM |
| Apr 27, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Dec 13, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR |
| Nov 8, 2022 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM NICOLE | EM |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Miramar 154
- Davie 121
- Ft Lauderdale 107
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Broward County, Florida?
1,172 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 33 direct deaths and $168.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Broward County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 385 recorded events — 32.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Broward County?
145 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 141 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Broward County?
43 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Broward County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Broward County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Broward County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Broward 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
- Brevard County 953
- Calhoun County 218
- Bradford County 222
- Charlotte County 261
- Bay County 669
- Citrus County 358
Cite this page
“Broward County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/broward-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.