Collier County, Florida severe weather history spans 418 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 26.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,183 nationally and #31 in Florida.
418
Recorded events
13
Direct deaths
60
Direct injuries
$13.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Collier County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Collier County, Florida severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 123 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 378 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Collier County, Florida record is lightning, responsible for 7 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $6.5M 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 Collier County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 110 | 0 | $548K | 78 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 71 | 2 | $6.5M | F2 | 1960–2024 |
| Hail | 56 | 0 | $500 | 1.75 | 1963–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 56 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 41 | 7 | $5.0M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Waterspout | 30 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Flood | 28 | 0 | $44K | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $565K | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 1998–2015 |
| Wildfire | 5 | 0 | $552K | 0 | 1999–2001 |
| Rip Current | 3 | 4 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1998 |
Decade by decade
Collier County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
73 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 70 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-11-09 | EF2 | 2 | 17 | 45.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-08-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-03-17 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 52.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-11 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 65.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-09-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-10-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-04-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-03-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-09-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Collier County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 9, 1968 | Tornado | 2 | 17 | $25K | |
| Aug 17, 1996 | Lightning | NAPLES PARK | 2 | 6 | $0 |
| Sep 27, 1997 | Rip Current | MARCO | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 28, 2003 | Lightning | IMMOKALEE | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 31, 2024 | Lightning | NAPLES | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| May 22, 1996 | Rip Current | NAPLES MUNI ARPT | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 17, 2021 | Lightning | MARCO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 28, 2016 | Lightning | GOLDEN GATE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Broadcast media relayed a report of a 17-year-old teenage boy from Georgia struck by lightning at Residents Beach on Marco Island due to a thunderstorm in the vicinity. Injuries were severe and the teen was airlifted to a hospital in Miami. Eleven (11) days later on July 28th, he unfortunately passed away due to his injuries.
A 52-year old Mexican national was killed while working near a ditch at a farm two miles from Oil Well Road. Two other men standing about 10 feet away were injured by the same lightning strike. It was raining heavily at the time. It was raining heavily at the time.
Local broadcast media reported two males sustaining injuries from a lightning strike in the water next to Naples Pier. Time is based on data from the National Lightning Detection Network. Two weeks later, local media reported that one of the men passed away after being in critical condition since the lightning strike.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
398,291
Population (ACS)
$541K
Median home value
54
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | DR |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | EM |
| Sep 28, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM HELENE | EM |
| Aug 10, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | DR |
| Aug 3, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Collier County, Florida?
418 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 13 direct deaths and $13.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Collier County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 110 recorded events — 26.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Collier County?
73 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 70 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Collier County?
54 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Collier County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Collier County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Collier County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Collier 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
- Clay County 596
- Columbia County 409
- Citrus County 358
- Charlotte County 261
- DeSoto County 134
- Calhoun County 218
Cite this page
“Collier County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/collier-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.