Osceola County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Florida Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Osceola County is about the same as Florida average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Osceola County is higher than Florida average and is much higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #25
| Osceola County | 0.01 |
| Florida | 0.01 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Osceola County | 0.0000 |
| Florida | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #10
| Osceola County | 212.92 |
| Florida | 185.89 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 6,859 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Osceola County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 87 | Dense Fog: | 65 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 483 | Hail: | 1,900 | Heat: | 1 | Heavy Snow: | 1 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 7 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 36 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 2,963 | Tropical Storm: | 10 | Wildfire: | 57 | Winter Storm: | 0 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 1,249 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Osceola County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Osceola County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Osceola County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 54 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Osceola County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 16.9 | 1981-03-19 | 2 | 28°14'N / 81°22'W | 28°15'N / 81°17'W | 5.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 11 | 250K | 0 | Osceola |
| 18.5 | 1966-04-04 | 4 | 28°13'N / 81°32'W | 28°26'N / 80°40'W | 54.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Osceola |
| 19.2 | 1983-03-24 | 2 | 28°15'N / 81°02'W | 28°18'N / 80°51'W | 10.00 Miles | 90 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Osceola |
| 21.1 | 1998-03-09 | 2 | 27°50'N / 81°30'W | 27°54'N / 81°19'W | 10.40 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.0M | 0 | Polk |
| Brief Description: A tornado (F0) touched down in rural semi-wooded swampland, seven miles southeast of Lake Wales in Southwest Polk County. Ground survey indicated that the tornado moved northeast across Lake-In-The-Water Road and caused sporadic minor damage to the roofs of a few homes and downed trees and branches in the Oakwood Drive subdivision. The tornado continued northeast, widened to 250 yards and intensified to F2 strength where it destroyed or severely damaged several structures along Doherty Drive. Two mobile homes that took a direct hit from the F2 tornado along Doherty Drive were completely disintegrated with only frame rails and tie downs intact. Meanwhile, in close proximity to the crushed mobile homes, a well-built home, with rebar-poured concrete, reinforced cinder block walls and a hip roof, suffered minor structural and roofing tile damage after taking a direct hit by the F2 tornado on Doherty Drive. A pick-up truck parked adjacent to the well-built home was pushed 30 feet from its original resting place by the tornadic wind. Residents along Doherty Drive reported the sound of the tornado resembled that of a large freight train. One severely injured resident on Doherty Drive was tossed over 50 feet into the street from his mobile home that was destroyed by the tornado. A storage facility with unsupported cinder block walls and a high unsupported roof span was demolished by the tornadic wind. Tornado ground survey indicated that a large ten foot plus wide wood door entrance failed and allowed the tornadic wind to enter the commercial structure and exert extreme pressure on the outer load bearing walls which collapsed outward. Aerial survey indicated that the tornado weakened to F1 strength and continued northeast across rural pasture and semi-wooded swampland where it caused severe damage to a few mobile homes, barns, fences and sheds before it crossed State Road 60, one quarter mile west of Tiger Lake Road, or 11.5 miles east of Lake Wales. The tornado downed large power lines along State Road 60 and continued northeast where it snapped tree tops and branches before it lifted and dissipated along the southwest shore of Lake Kissimmee. The tornado in all destroyed or severely damaged twelve homes, caused moderate to slight damage to an additional fourteen homes, severely damaged four commercial buildings and damaged two recreational vehicles. The tornado also snapped several large power poles, downed numerous power lines and uprooted or snapped several large trees. Tornado damage to structures was estimated at one million dollars while damage to the electrical infrastructure was estimated at one million dollars. | |||||||||||
| 21.3 | 1973-01-28 | 2 | 28°16'N / 81°28'W | 28°20'N / 81°15'W | 14.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Osceola |
| 21.5 | 1998-02-23 | 3 | 28°14'N / 81°29'W | 28°20'N / 81°17'W | 14.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 25 | 145 | 50.0M | 0 | Osceola |
| Brief Description: The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a category F3 that touched down initially one mile south of Intercession City. The tornado moved northeast at 45 mph and ripped through the town of Kissimmee killing 25 people. The hardest hit areas were the Morningside Acres mobile home community and the Ponderosa Recreational Vehicle Park. In all eight people were killed in recreational vehicles, fifteen in mobile homes and one in an automobile. The tornado continued northeast and moved into Orange County six miles north of St. Cloud. One hundred and fifty people were injured and over 1000 structures were damaged or destroyed. M1MH, M22MH, M23MH, M30VE, F31MH, F33MH, M38MH, F45MH, F47MH, M50MH, M51VE, M55MH, F64VE, F65MH, F66MH, F67MH, M69VE, F70VE, F71VE, M71VE, M73VE, F75MH, F85VE, M51VE, M33VE | |||||||||||
| 25.2 | 1964-06-06 | 2 | 28°06'N / 81°33'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 26.6 | 1998-02-23 | 3 | 28°24'N / 81°16'W | 28°29'N / 80°54'W | 24.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 5 | 5.0M | 0 | Orange |
| Brief Description: The Kissimmee tornado moved into Orange County southeast of Orlando International Airport as a category F3. The tornado affected rural swampy areas, striking few structures except for lakeside neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane. The tornado lifted as it approached the St. Johns River on the east central border of Orange County in the Tosohatchee State Preserve. | |||||||||||
| 28.0 | 1983-03-24 | 2 | 28°18'N / 80°51'W | 28°20'N / 80°43'W | 8.00 Miles | 90 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25.0M | 0 | Brevard |
| 29.2 | 1963-02-19 | 2 | 27°54'N / 81°35'W | 0.20 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Polk | |
| 30.2 | 1997-12-27 | 2 | 28°04'N / 81°40'W | 28°08'N / 81°36'W | 5.80 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 18 | 6.0M | 0 | Polk |
| Brief Description: A strong F2 tornado touched down in the Lake Region mobile home park along U.S. Highway 27 and County Road 544 in Polk county. Several mobile homes sustained major to severe damage. Residents of Haines City who heard the tornado described that the sound resembled a high-pitched whine. The F2 tornado moved northeast and travelled across U.S. Highway 27 and caused significant wall and roof damage to several well built wood, mixed brick and mobile homes over mainly south and east Haines City from County Road 544 northeast to County Road 580. The Boone Middle School over eastern Haines City had heavy damage to a main building while eleven portable classrooms were destroyed or heavily damaged. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped half way up from the base. Several orange trees were sheared near the base along County Road 544. Several power poles were snapped and power lines downed along the path of the F2 tornado. Total damage was estimated at six million dollars. Seventy-five homes were destroyed, another 75-100 suffered major damage while another 75-100 received minor damage. Most of the homes destroyed were mobile or pre-fabricated homes. Also, at least ten vehicles were damaged or destroyed by the tornado. Nearly 2,000 electrical customers were without power from power poles and lines blown down by the tornadic wind. Most injuries that occurred during the tornado touchdown resulted from wind blown debris. | |||||||||||
| 30.7 | 1951-12-18 | 2 | 27°47'N / 81°32'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 31.2 | 1964-10-14 | 2 | 28°08'N / 80°38'W | 0 | 17 | 250K | 0 | Brevard | |||
| 32.1 | 1963-05-29 | 2 | 27°54'N / 81°38'W | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 32.2 | 1973-03-17 | 2 | 28°06'N / 81°40'W | 0.30 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Polk | |
| 33.0 | 1967-06-05 | 2 | 28°30'N / 81°21'W | 0.10 Mile | 173 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange | |
| 33.0 | 1971-08-04 | 2 | 28°16'N / 80°40'W | 28°14'N / 80°37'W | 4.10 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brevard |
| 33.2 | 1979-05-08 | 2 | 28°04'N / 81°41'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 40 | 25.0M | 0 | Polk | |
| 33.3 | 1983-03-07 | 2 | 28°07'N / 80°38'W | 28°10'N / 80°34'W | 5.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Brevard |
| 33.4 | 1950-05-15 | 2 | 28°30'N / 81°22'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Orange | |||
| 33.7 | 1966-04-04 | 2 | 27°42'N / 82°38'W | 28°21'N / 80°45'W | 140.0 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pinellas |
| 34.8 | 1981-03-19 | 3 | 28°30'N / 81°25'W | 28°33'N / 81°18'W | 8.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 34.9 | 1979-09-03 | 2 | 28°04'N / 80°34'W | 2.00 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Brevard | |
| 34.9 | 2005-10-24 | 2 | 28°02'N / 80°34'W | 28°02'N / 80°34'W | 0.30 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0 | Brevard |
| Brief Description: A rainband from Hurricane Wilma moving northwest toward the coast produced an F2 waterspout-tornado that moved on shore and removed the upper floor of a house that was built over a ground level garage. The top half of the structure was blown into US Highway A1A. | |||||||||||
| 35.1 | 1972-06-18 | 2 | 28°00'N / 80°34'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 11 | 250K | 0 | Brevard | |
| 35.9 | 1959-04-02 | 2 | 28°34'N / 81°16'W | 1 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Orange | |||
| 36.6 | 1973-01-28 | 2 | 28°31'N / 81°26'W | 28°32'N / 81°25'W | 2.70 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 16 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 36.6 | 1983-02-02 | 2 | 28°33'N / 81°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Orange | |
| 36.8 | 1972-06-19 | 3 | 28°22'N / 80°40'W | 28°26'N / 80°41'W | 4.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Brevard |
| 37.3 | 1979-07-09 | 2 | 28°19'N / 80°36'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Brevard | |
| 37.4 | 1963-07-11 | 2 | 28°28'N / 80°44'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Brevard | |||
| 38.1 | 1983-02-02 | 2 | 28°33'N / 81°22'W | 28°37'N / 81°18'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 9 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 38.3 | 1973-01-28 | 2 | 28°30'N / 80°48'W | 28°30'N / 80°43'W | 5.10 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brevard |
| 38.7 | 1978-01-08 | 2 | 28°30'N / 81°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Orange | |
| 39.5 | 1970-02-03 | 2 | 27°46'N / 80°35'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Indian River | |||
| 40.8 | 1966-04-04 | 4 | 28°06'N / 82°04'W | 28°13'N / 81°32'W | 33.50 Miles | 300 Yards | 8 | 450 | 25.0M | 0 | Polk |
| 41.4 | 1972-03-31 | 2 | 28°31'N / 80°42'W | 2.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brevard | |
| 42.1 | 1981-03-18 | 2 | 28°40'N / 81°12'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Seminole | |
| 42.6 | 1978-01-08 | 2 | 28°37'N / 81°26'W | 28°38'N / 81°24'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 23 | 2.5M | 0 | Orange |
| 43.2 | 1998-02-22 | 3 | 28°31'N / 81°38'W | 28°38'N / 81°27'W | 14.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 3 | 70 | 15.0M | 0 | Orange |
| Brief Description: The Lake County tornado moved into Orange County about 5 miles southwest of Winter Garden moving northeast at 45 mph. It rapidly intensified to a category F3 tornado with estimated winds near 200 mph. The tornado moved through Winter Garden between 11:47 pm and 11:55 pm destroying a mobile home community in Winter Garden. There were three fatalities and 70 injuries. Five hundred structures were either damaged or destroyed. F68MH, M80MH, M80MH | |||||||||||
| 43.7 | 1968-09-12 | 2 | 28°37'N / 80°48'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Brevard | |
| 43.7 | 1970-03-05 | 3 | 28°37'N / 80°48'W | 1.90 Miles | 333 Yards | 0 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Brevard | |
| 44.0 | 1986-02-08 | 2 | 27°53'N / 81°50'W | 2.00 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Polk | |
| 44.4 | 1959-04-02 | 2 | 28°39'N / 80°51'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Brevard | |
| 44.5 | 1978-01-08 | 2 | 28°38'N / 81°24'W | 28°45'N / 81°10'W | 16.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Seminole |
| 45.0 | 1998-02-22 | 3 | 28°29'N / 81°43'W | 28°31'N / 81°39'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lake |
| Brief Description: The second tornado of the outbreak touched down in Lake County just east of Lake Louisa along Highway 27. It moved northeast at 45 mph through a rural area blowing down trees but otherwise causing little property damage. At 11:41 pm the tornado moved into Orange County. | |||||||||||
| 45.0 | 1983-02-02 | 2 | 27°27'N / 81°24'W | 1.00 Mile | 40 Yards | 1 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Highlands | |
| 45.6 | 1951-12-18 | 2 | 27°45'N / 81°48'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 46.8 | 1982-06-17 | 2 | 27°25'N / 81°23'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 9 | 0K | 0 | Highlands | |
| 47.0 | 1972-06-19 | 3 | 28°28'N / 80°32'W | 28°31'N / 80°33'W | 3.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 23 | 2.5M | 0 | Brevard |
| 47.1 | 1982-09-26 | 2 | 27°23'N / 81°02'W | 4.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 1 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Okeechobee | |
| 47.2 | 1963-11-10 | 2 | 27°45'N / 80°27'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Indian River | |
| 48.3 | 1998-02-23 | 3 | 28°42'N / 81°21'W | 28°48'N / 81°11'W | 14.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 12 | 36 | 30.0M | 0 | Seminole |
| Brief Description: The Seminole County category F3 tornado was produced by the same supercell that produced the Winter Garden tornado. It initially set down near Longwood and moved northeast at 45 mph. The tornado passed through several neighborhhoods in the southeast portion of Sanford killing 12 people in mobile homes and injuring 70. It continued northeast and crossed into Volusia County 5 miles east of Sanford. The near 200 mph winds of the tornado damaged or destroy 625 structures. M9MH, F11MH, F21MH, M23MH, M26MH, M37MH, F39MH, F40MH, M41MH, M49MH, M53PH, M62MH | |||||||||||
| 49.5 | 1971-11-29 | 2 | 28°01'N / 81°57'W | 0.50 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Polk | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.