Miami-Dade County, Florida severe weather history spans 1,248 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 30.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #73 nationally and #2 in Florida.
1,248
Recorded events
30
Direct deaths
233
Direct injuries
$317.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Miami-Dade County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Miami-Dade County, Florida severe weather history averages 17.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 335 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 180 events fall before 1990 and 1,068 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Miami-Dade County, Florida record is rip current, responsible for 19 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $202.7M 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 Miami-Dade County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 377 | 2 | $7.7M | 86 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 244 | 0 | $3K | 4 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 150 | 1 | $202.7M | F3 | 1953–2026 |
| Flood | 108 | 0 | $125K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 99 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Waterspout | 74 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Lightning | 72 | 8 | $644K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 61 | 0 | $105.5M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 28 | 0 | $345K | 0 | 2001–2020 |
| Rip Current | 27 | 19 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Wildfire | 8 | 0 | $150K | 0 | 1996–2000 |
Decade by decade
Miami-Dade County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
137 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 131 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959-06-17 | EF3 | 0 | 77 | 12.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-03-27 | EF2 | 1 | 14 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-02-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-03-17 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 52.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-12-20 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 7.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-02-19 | EF2 | 0 | 21 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-10-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Miami-Dade County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 28, 1996 | Rip Current | MIAMI BEACH | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 27, 2003 | Tornado | MIAMI | 1 | 14 | $8.0M |
| Aug 8, 2015 | Lightning | GOLDEN BEACH | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2013 | Lightning | ALADDIN CITY | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| May 15, 2004 | Rip Current | SUNNY IS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2002 | Rip Current | SUNNY IS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 4, 2002 | Lightning | HOMESTEAD | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 2001 | Rip Current | MIAMI BEACH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A building maintenance worker was killed after he was struck by a glass tabletop that flew off a 9th floor balcony of Flamingo Apartments in Miami Beach. The tabletop flew off during high winds from thunderstorms which affected the area. Nearest measured wind gust was 46 mph at the City of Miami Beach Police Headquarters at 656 PM EDT. It is likely winds were higher at the 9th floor of the building. Report was supplemented with information from City of Miami Beach Department of Emergency Management.
A 40-year-old man was struck by lightning while walking door to door along NW 199th Street in Miami Lakes. The man was taken to the Ryder Trauma Center where he died 5 days later.||Light rain was falling at the time of the lightning strike, although there were no dark clouds directly overhead.
Lightning struck and killed a 41-year-old man who was doing landscape work at a home at 10500 SW 62 Ave in Pinecrest. The man was under a tree when the lightning struck. ||It was not raining at the location of the lightning strike, although a thunderstorm was located about 2 to 3 miles to the north. The media reported this incident as dry lightning striking out of a clear sky, although the lightning bolt likely originated out of the side of the nearby storm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very High
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,738,356
Population (ACS)
$463K
Median home value
43
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 11, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | DR |
| Oct 7, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MILTON | EM |
| Dec 13, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE NICOLE | DR |
| Nov 8, 2022 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM NICOLE | EM |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
| Sep 24, 2022 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM IAN | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Miami 160
- Miami Beach 135
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Miami-Dade County, Florida?
1,248 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 30 direct deaths and $317.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Miami-Dade County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 377 recorded events — 30.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Miami-Dade County?
137 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 131 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Miami-Dade County?
43 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Miami-Dade County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Miami-Dade County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Miami-Dade County as very high risk, placing it in the 100 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Miami-Dade 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
- Martin County 221
- Monroe County 617
- Marion County 983
- Nassau County 480
- Manatee County 464
- Okaloosa County 579
Cite this page
“Miami-Dade County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/miami-dade-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.