Suwannee County, Florida severe weather history spans 432 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 56.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,127 nationally and #30 in Florida.
432
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$6.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Suwannee County, Florida severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Suwannee County, Florida severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 154 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 388 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $4.8M 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 Suwannee County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 244 | 0 | $1.4M | 87 | 1968–2024 |
| Hail | 63 | 0 | $7K | 2.75 | 1958–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 51 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $4.8M | F2 | 1954–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $273K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $110K | 0 | 2009–2022 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $355K | 0 | 1996–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2009 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Suwannee County, Florida severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
40 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-03-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-09-29 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-02-06 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 22.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-12-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-03-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Suwannee County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 1998 | Tornado | LIVE OAK | 0 | 5 | $600K |
| Jun 7, 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | FALMOUTH | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2013 | Lightning | LIVE OAK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 10, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado touched down as an EF-0 in an open field just east of the Suwannee River and south of the Progress Energy power plant. It increased to intensity becoming a low end EF-1 tornado several hundred feet down track where it impacted several farm buildings and mobile homes. Several small farm structures were destroyed and winds here we estimated to be between 86 and 90 mph. The tornado continued moving northeastward as an EF-0 snapping trees along its path near the entrance to the Suwannee River State Park and along Stagecoach Road. It then went through a wooded area emerging along West Tower Road where it began the occlusion process. The rear flank downdraft heavily damaged two chicken houses with a loss of about a quarter million dollars. At this point the tornado took a northward turn toward the Jenkins Farm house destroying a large work shed with heavy machinery and damaging the home. The tornado was rated as an EF-1 here with winds of 95 to 100 mph. Debris from the shed was strewn across the field north of the Jenkins Farm house to Stagecoach Road.
Flooding impacted much of Suwannee County. On 6/25 at 7:30 pm, law enforcement reported flooding at U.S. Highway 90 at County Road 137 in Wellborn. The intersection was closed due to deep water. At 7:30 pm, the public reported 8.5 inches of water accumulation in Live Oak. At the same time, a trained spotter reported reported streets were beginning to flood due to ditches over-flowing toward the roadway in Live Oak. At 8:02 pm, law enforcement reported a tree was blown down in the right lane of Interstate 10 near mile marker 292 due to saturated grounds and gusty winds. On 6/28 at 10:23 am, an NWS Storm Survey reported a sinkhole 1 block from the Intersection of Highway 90 and State Road 129. A few structures were in danger of being engulfed into the expanding sinkhole. The cost of damage was estimated and is likely grossly under-estimated.
An approximate seven square mile area of straight line wind damage occurred as a result of a bowing line of thunderstorms. The area of most substantial damage had dozens of large trees uprooted and snapped. A total of 18 structures sustained damage with one mobile home destroyed by a large oak tree that fell through it. Damage indicators suggested maximum winds of around 70 mph. The cost of damage was estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
45,342
Population (ACS)
$172K
Median home value
39
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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Live Oak 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Suwannee County, Florida?
432 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Suwannee County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 244 recorded events — 56.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Suwannee County?
40 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Suwannee County?
39 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Suwannee County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Suwannee County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Suwannee County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Suwannee 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
- Sumter County 165
- Taylor County 233
- Seminole County 363
- Union County 137
- Sarasota County 385
- Volusia County 642
Cite this page
“Suwannee County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/suwannee-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.