Santa Rosa County, Florida severe weather history spans 663 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 44.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #451 nationally and #16 in Florida.
663
Recorded events
29
Direct deaths
182
Direct injuries
$29.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Santa Rosa County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Santa Rosa County, Florida severe weather history averages 9.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 162 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 546 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Santa Rosa County, Florida record is tornado, responsible for 17 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $17.2M 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 Santa Rosa County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 294 | 0 | $2.5M | 96 | 1955–2025 |
| Lightning | 106 | 2 | $1.4M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 80 | 0 | $2.5M | 2.75 | 1962–2026 |
| Tornado | 75 | 17 | $6.2M | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 68 | 0 | $17.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Waterspout | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Rip Current | 12 | 10 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2003 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2008 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Coastal Flood | 1 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Santa Rosa 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: 81 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-03-31 | EF3 | 17 | 100 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-02-07 | EF3 | 0 | 112 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-26 | EF2 | 1 | 4 | 105.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-11-30 | EF2 | 0 | 7 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-03-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-12-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Santa Rosa County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 1962 | Tornado | 17 | 100 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 15, 2005 | Lightning | NAVARRE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2014 | Lightning | ALLENTOWN | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 9, 2003 | Rip Current | NAVARRE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 24, 2001 | Rip Current | NAVARRE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Nov 23, 2001 | Rip Current | NAVARRE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 29, 2001 | Rip Current | NAVARRE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 13, 2001 | Rip Current | NAVARRE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tourist from Louisiana was killed while walking on Navarre Beach. An eleven year old daughter of a friend was walking with him when the strike occurred. The girl was treated for minor injuries at the scene. The man was found in the surf and was pronounced dead at the scene. They were walking along the beach in between a thunderstorm to the west of them and one approaching from the east when the strike occurred.
A 34 year old male and a younger boy were swimming near Navarre Beach. The rough water kept taking the two farther offshore and they began to struggle. A surfer was able to paddle to them and brought the younger boy to shore. By the time the rescuer got to the second individual he had already gone under. The surfer was able to locate the individual and bring him ashore. The individual was taken to a local hospital where he died.
For the second day in a row, a swimmer drowned in strong rip currents off the beaches at Navarre. The unusually warm weather for late November persuaded beachgoers to venture into the waters, but an increasingly strong onshore wind flow had developed dangerous rip currents along some beaches. A man visiting the area from Citrus County Florida was overcome by the rough waters, and drowned.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
198,472
Population (ACS)
$330K
Median home value
43
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jun 17, 2024 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 29, 2022 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IAN | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Santa Rosa County, Florida?
663 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 29 direct deaths and $29.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Santa Rosa County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 294 recorded events — 44.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Santa Rosa County?
90 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 81 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Santa Rosa County?
43 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Santa Rosa County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Santa Rosa County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Santa Rosa County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 89 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Santa Rosa 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
- St. Lucie County 248
- Sarasota County 385
- St. Johns County 786
- Seminole County 363
- Putnam County 656
- Sumter County 165
Cite this page
“Santa Rosa County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/santa-rosa-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.