Palm Beach County, Florida severe weather history spans 1,094 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 27.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #108 nationally and #6 in Florida.
1,094
Recorded events
22
Direct deaths
185
Direct injuries
$274.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Palm Beach County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Palm Beach County, Florida severe weather history averages 14.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 272 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 160 events fall before 1990 and 934 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Palm Beach County, Florida record is lightning, responsible for 10 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $181.3M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Palm Beach County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 303 | 1 | $1.0M | 100 | 1956–2026 |
| Tornado | 197 | 1 | $181.3M | F3 | 1952–2025 |
| Hail | 171 | 0 | $260K | 2 | 1961–2026 |
| Funnel Cloud | 142 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 83 | 10 | $20.6M | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Waterspout | 64 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Flood | 55 | 0 | $19K | 0 | 2000–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 47 | 2 | $71.1M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Rip Current | 16 | 8 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2004 |
| Heavy Rain | 11 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2001–2015 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1999–2000 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Palm Beach County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
191 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 185 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-10-19 | EF3 | 1 | 24 | 20.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-10-09 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 32.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-10-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 65.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-09-27 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-08-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-08-08 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-01-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-03-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Palm Beach County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 2014 | Flash Flood | DELRAY BEACH | 2 | 0 | $500K |
| Sep 1, 2003 | Rip Current | BOCA RATON | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Oct 19, 1958 | Tornado | 1 | 24 | $250K | |
| Jul 30, 2019 | Lightning | WELLINGTON | 1 | 5 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jul 10, 2018 | Lightning | LAKE WORTH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2016 | Lightning | HYPOLUXO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2007 | Lightning | BOCA RATON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Palm Beach Post reported 6 people, a woman and 5 men, were struck by lightning at the Shakerwood development off of Wellington Trace. This is west of the Mall at Wellington Green. The victims were working on the roof of a townhouse when the lightning struck. Two people, a 20-year-old woman and a man, were knocked off the roof by the lightning strike and were taken to a local hospital trauma center where the women was in critical condition. The woman died from her injuries on August 9th. ||Two others were taken to local hospitals and recovered, while the remaining two victims were treated at the scene and released. ||Based on lightning detection network data, the lightning strike was likely the first strike from a thunderstorm that developed very close to the location.
Multiple media outlets reported that 2 men were working in a wooded area when a tree near them was struck by lightning sending the current into them. They both were then transported to local area hospitals where one man was deceased and the other survived his injuries.
A 23 year old male was struck by lightning while standing underneath a tree in front of his home at 250 North Palm Drive in Boynton Beach. CPR was performed at the scene and he was transported to Bethesda Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,533,806
Population (ACS)
$447K
Median home value
41
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
- Boca Raton 185
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Palm Beach County, Florida?
1,094 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 22 direct deaths and $274.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Palm Beach County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 303 recorded events — 27.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Palm Beach County?
191 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 185 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Palm Beach County?
41 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Palm Beach County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Palm Beach County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Palm Beach County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Palm Beach 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
- Osceola County 277
- Pasco County 567
- Orange County 752
- Pinellas County 843
- Okeechobee County 138
- Polk County 881
Cite this page
“Palm Beach County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/palm-beach-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.