109
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$168K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Monroe County, Florida: 109 recorded events between 1961 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 104. That places the county #2,099 nationally and #48 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Monroe County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Monroe County is the 2000s, when 30 of the county's 109 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Monroe County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 17.7% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,099 for this hazard and #48 within Florida, putting it in the 33.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Apr is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Monroe County with 13 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 1998 | MARATHON | 65 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2026 | SUNSET PT | 56 | $0 |
| Mar 1, 2026 | SUNSET PT | 65 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2024 | TAVERNIER | 74 | $0 |
| Nov 16, 2023 | OCEAN REEF | 57 | $0 |
| Sep 25, 2023 | (EYW)KEY WEST INL AR | 51 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2023 | ROCK HARBOR | 48 | $2K |
| Aug 28, 2021 | (EYW)KEY WEST INL AR | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 11, 2021 | KEY LARGO PT ARPT | 43 | $500 |
| Aug 21, 2020 | (EYW)KEY WEST INL AR | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 20, 2020 | GRASSY KEY | 52 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Monroe County
- Waterspout 314
- Tornado 78
- Funnel Cloud 53
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
ASOS at Marathon Airport recorded 50 knots at 1620 EDT. The C-MAN at Sombrero Key recorded 59 knots. A storm spotter estimated wind gusts of 65 knots. Signs and trees were downed throughout the Marathon area. Several boats were swamped. Five people were knocked overboard from their sailboat. Four were rescued by the USCG. A 34 year old man was found drowned two days later.
Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph blew down a large billboard on top of permanent shelter canopies at the Marathon Municipal Skate Park. Large tree blown down at Monroe County Sheriffs Office, an 80-foot guy-wired communications antenna snapped at a level 20 feet above the ground, and a 30-foot-tall 4-foot diameter rubber tree was uprooted and damaged the corner section of a roof of a day care center.
Severe wind gusts out of the north northeast spread out of the east end of Boot Key Harbor. Three small vessels, including one trimaran, were overturned. A vessel docked at Dockside Marina measured a wind gust in excess of 100 mph at mast level. An outdoor canopy secured by heavy tube steel framing was destroyed at a restaurant. A tent was also carried into power lines, causing a power outage to most of the Sombrero Country Club and Sombrero Beach area.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Monroe County, Florida?
109 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Monroe County between 1961 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Monroe County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Monroe County measured 104.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Monroe County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Monroe County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/monroe-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.