Sumter County, Florida severe weather history spans 165 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 52.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,636 nationally and #57 in Florida.
165
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
26
Direct injuries
$67.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Sumter County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sumter County, Florida severe weather history averages 2.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 48 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 16 events fall before 1990 and 149 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sumter County, Florida record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $65.5M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Sumter County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 86 | 0 | $785K | 70 | 1959–2024 |
| Hail | 31 | 0 | $20K | 1.75 | 1955–2018 |
| Tornado | 17 | 0 | $65.5M | F2 | 1968–2020 |
| Lightning | 14 | 1 | $908K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2021 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $117K | 0 | 1997–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Frost/Freeze | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Sumter County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-02-02 | EF3 | 0 | 15 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-11-13 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-09 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 29.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-03-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-02-06 | EF1 | 0 | 5 | 54.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-06-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-06-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sumter County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 1997 | Lightning | WILDWOOD | 1 | 2 | $0 |
| Feb 2, 2007 | Tornado | ROYAL | 0 | 15 | $62.0M |
| Feb 6, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Sep 10, 2022 | Lightning | OXFORD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | OXFORD | 0 | 1 | $15K |
| Aug 9, 2000 | Lightning | LAKE PANASOFFKEE | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| Nov 13, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning from the cirrus anvil of a distant thunderstorm struck and killed a nine year old child and injured two other children ages eleven and fifteen. The children were standing along the sidelines of the Wildwood High School football practice field. The nine year old male child died ten days after the strike.The nine year old child took the direct lightning hit and sustained major burn injuries to his forehead, chest, back and down the left side of his body to the soles of his feet. The two older children's injuries from the lighting were minor. The lightning struck nearly 35 minutes after a thunderstorm had passed over the field.
The tornado first touched down near the southeast corner of The Villages south of Lake Miona and moved rapidly to the east northeast at 55 MPH into Lake County. A FEMA report to Sumter County emergency management officials detailed damage to 1,145 homes with 200 destroyed during the 6 minutes the tornado was on the ground. A National Weather Service storm survey estimated maximum winds of 140 MPH. No fatalities were recorded in Sumter County and 15 injuries is a rough estimate.
A tornado touched down along State Road 44 west of U.S. Highway 301 and damaged up to 24 buildings in the city of Wildwood. The tornado touched down on the Wildwood High School and caused roof and window damage. Numerous trees were uprooted and power lines downed by the tornado before it lifted and dissipated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
143,408
Population (ACS)
$385K
Median home value
34
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 Sumter County, Florida?
165 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $67.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sumter County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 86 recorded events — 52.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sumter County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sumter County?
34 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sumter County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sumter County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sumter County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 88 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sumter 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
- Seminole County 363
- Suwannee County 432
- Sarasota County 385
- Taylor County 233
- Santa Rosa County 663
- Union County 137
Cite this page
“Sumter County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/sumter-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.