Pasco County, Florida severe weather history spans 567 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #669 nationally and #26 in Florida.
567
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
70
Direct injuries
$132.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Pasco County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pasco County, Florida severe weather history averages 8.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 196 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 107 events fall before 1990 and 460 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Pasco County, Florida record is lightning, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $104.7M in reported property damage. In total, 13 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pasco County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 243 | 0 | $2.7M | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 104 | 0 | $255K | 3 | 1960–2022 |
| Tornado | 96 | 0 | $14.8M | F2 | 1958–2024 |
| Flood | 49 | 1 | $104.7M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 30 | 3 | $934K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 24 | 0 | $127K | 4 | 1997–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $5.2M | 0 | 1997–2003 |
| Waterspout | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2025 |
| Storm Surge/Tide | 2 | 0 | $3.6M | 0 | 1998–1999 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
| Coastal Flood | 1 | 0 | $175K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Frost/Freeze | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Pasco County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
90 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 86 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-12-25 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-12-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-03-17 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-09 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 29.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 12 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-11-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-12-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Pasco County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2001 | Lightning | SAN ANTONIO | 1 | 3 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2012 | Flood | NEW PORT RICHEY | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
| Aug 17, 2006 | Lightning | WESLEY CHAPEL | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 1998 | Lightning | NEW PORT RICHEY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 1959 | Tornado | 0 | 12 | $250K | |
| Mar 13, 1993 | Tornado | New Port Richey | 0 | 11 | $0 |
| Mar 23, 1979 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Aug 24, 2006 | Lightning | WESLEY CHAPEL | 0 | 4 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Anclote River at Elfers began to flood on the 24th due primarily to heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby. The river crested early on the morning of the 26th at 26.74 feet, or 6.74 feet above flood stage, and then fell below flood stage on the 29th. As many as 15,000 people were evacuated from 7,000 homes due to the rising flood waters. Homes at Anclote River Estates were standing in several feet of water.||On the 27th, the body of a 46 year old man was found floating in the Anclote River. The Medical Examiner determined that the man died of accidental drowning, with a cardiovascular factor, but no other details are known.
A 42 year old male road crew worker was struck and killed by lightning and three others injured slightly near Darby Road, two miles east of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, in east central Pasco county. Lightning struck an aluminum rod held by the man as he walked down the middle of an unpaved road just prior to the beginning of rainfall. The three other road crew workers were knocked off their feet and briefly stunned by the lightning strike.
Heavy rains, mostly from Hurricane Hermine brought the Anclote River at Elfers into major flood stage, cresting at 25.08 feet at 1830EST on the 3rd. The river was in moderate or major flood stage from 0400EST on the 3rd through 0100EST on the 6th. In total, 2,672 properties were impacted, with 1,565 homes with minor damage, 305 homes with major damage, and 7 homes destroyed. In total, damage from the flooding was estimated to be $89 million.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
611,444
Population (ACS)
$301K
Median home value
44
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 Pasco County, Florida?
567 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $132.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pasco County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 243 recorded events — 42.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pasco County?
90 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 86 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pasco County?
44 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pasco County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pasco County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pasco County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pasco 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
- Palm Beach County 1,094
- Pinellas County 843
- Osceola County 277
- Polk County 881
- Orange County 752
- Putnam County 656
Cite this page
“Pasco County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/pasco-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.