Putnam County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Florida Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Putnam County is about the same as Florida average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Putnam County is lower than Florida average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #6
| Putnam County | 0.03 |
| 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
| Putnam 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, #31
| Putnam County | 153.62 |
| 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 6,694 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Putnam 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: | 80 | Dense Fog: | 54 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 267 | Hail: | 1,782 | Heat: | 2 | Heavy Snow: | 1 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 5 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 24 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 3,386 | Tropical Storm: | 13 | Wildfire: | 97 | Winter Storm: | 0 | Winter Weather: | 1 |
| Other: | 982 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Putnam County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Putnam County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Putnam County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 48 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Putnam County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 3.8 | 1967-05-22 | 2 | 29°37'N / 81°50'W | 29°40'N / 81°33'W | 17.40 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Putnam |
| 4.5 | 1973-04-04 | 2 | 29°36'N / 82°04'W | 29°40'N / 81°33'W | 31.40 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Putnam |
| 7.6 | 1977-12-05 | 2 | 29°38'N / 81°42'W | 29°40'N / 81°33'W | 9.40 Miles | 40 Yards | 1 | 10 | 250K | 0 | Putnam |
| 9.5 | 1995-04-24 | 2 | 29°39'N / 81°44'W | 29°45'N / 81°31'W | 10.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 5 | 1.1M | 0 | St. Johns |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched town about five and a half miles west of Palatka travelled east northeast, lifting about one and a half miles northeast of Palatka. In Putnam County more than 200 building were damaged with 11 totally destroyed and over 150 vehicles were damaged. Winds were measured at 93 mph. In St Johns County, damage was confined mainly to trees downed. Damaged to buildings was mainly roof damage but several mobile homes were completely destroyed. Included in the damage was a hospital, community college and church. | |||||||||||
| 14.0 | 1973-04-04 | 2 | 29°40'N / 81°33'W | 29°42'N / 81°30'W | 4.10 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | St. Johns |
| 16.3 | 1972-01-22 | 2 | 29°50'N / 81°40'W | 0.30 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 3K | 0 | Clay | |
| 20.7 | 1973-04-04 | 2 | 29°33'N / 82°06'W | 29°36'N / 82°04'W | 4.50 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Alachua |
| 21.3 | 1984-02-27 | 2 | 29°47'N / 82°01'W | 29°50'N / 82°00'W | 3.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Clay |
| 23.8 | 2001-03-29 | 2 | 29°52'N / 81°45'W | 30°02'N / 81°40'W | 12.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.1M | 0 | Clay |
| Brief Description: Tornado was mainly F0-F1. Large trees were uprooted and power lines were blown down. Two homes were destroyed, 4 with major damage, and 50 with minor damage. A total of 56 homes in the Highlands Avenue area were damaged. | |||||||||||
| 24.4 | 1961-04-09 | 2 | 29°47'N / 81°26'W | 29°49'N / 81°22'W | 5.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | St. Johns |
| 27.4 | 1960-06-04 | 2 | 30°00'N / 81°41'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Clay | |||
| 27.5 | 1971-02-07 | 3 | 29°54'N / 81°33'W | 29°55'N / 81°20'W | 13.10 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | St. Johns |
| 29.5 | 1971-02-07 | 2 | 29°57'N / 82°02'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clay | |
| 30.1 | 1970-07-05 | 2 | 29°28'N / 81°16'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Flagler | |||
| 30.4 | 1962-11-21 | 2 | 29°10'N / 81°52'W | 29°11'N / 81°49'W | 3.60 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Marion |
| 31.6 | 1950-03-16 | 2 | 29°39'N / 81°13'W | 1.50 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | St. Johns | |
| 32.1 | 1971-02-07 | 2 | 29°57'N / 82°06'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Bradford | |
| 32.2 | 1983-02-02 | 2 | 29°31'N / 82°16'W | 0.30 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Alachua | |
| 32.5 | 1975-03-18 | 2 | 29°55'N / 81°20'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | St. Johns | |
| 33.4 | 1974-05-12 | 2 | 30°05'N / 81°41'W | 30°05'N / 81°37'W | 4.30 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Duval |
| 33.5 | 1958-04-15 | 3 | 29°52'N / 81°18'W | 29°53'N / 81°15'W | 3.60 Miles | 73 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | St. Johns |
| 34.2 | 1970-02-03 | 2 | 29°42'N / 82°18'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Alachua | |||
| 34.7 | 1986-03-14 | 2 | 29°39'N / 82°19'W | 2.00 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Alachua | |
| 36.4 | 1957-06-08 | 2 | 30°06'N / 81°46'W | 30°10'N / 81°42'W | 6.40 Miles | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Clay |
| 36.8 | 1966-09-28 | 2 | 29°40'N / 82°21'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Alachua | |
| 37.0 | 1983-04-09 | 2 | 29°10'N / 82°14'W | 29°14'N / 82°03'W | 10.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Marion |
| 37.6 | 1978-05-04 | 2 | 29°34'N / 82°27'W | 29°41'N / 82°17'W | 12.80 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Alachua |
| 39.1 | 1983-11-20 | 2 | 29°28'N / 81°08'W | 29°29'N / 81°05'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Flagler |
| 39.5 | 1978-04-19 | 2 | 29°04'N / 82°03'W | 29°06'N / 81°58'W | 5.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 14 | 2.5M | 0 | Marion |
| 40.2 | 1964-01-12 | 2 | 29°11'N / 82°12'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Marion | |||
| 42.1 | 1972-08-22 | 2 | 29°08'N / 81°18'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Volusia | |
| 43.0 | 1978-04-19 | 2 | 29°51'N / 82°24'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Alachua | |
| 43.1 | 1973-03-08 | 2 | 29°04'N / 82°06'W | 1.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Marion | |
| 43.5 | 1957-06-08 | 2 | 30°14'N / 81°41'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Duval | |||
| 44.3 | 1975-12-31 | 3 | 29°05'N / 82°10'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 26 | 2.5M | 0 | Marion | |
| 45.0 | 1995-01-07 | 2 | 29°00'N / 82°07'W | 29°00'N / 81°55'W | 12.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 1 | 20 | 2.8M | 0 | Marion |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado touched down at 0550 EST about one mile north of Pedro in Marion County and moved east about 12 miles before lifting about three-quarters miles north of Weirsdale. A man received fatal head injuries while sitting in his car outside a mobile home when the car was rolled four times. Another 20 persons, mostly those in mobile homes, were injured. The tornado destroyed or heavily damaged 66 mobile homes with less extensive damage to another 85 dwellings, mostly mobile homes. The hardest hit communities were Lake Weir Harbor Estates and Bird Island. (M53A) | |||||||||||
| 45.7 | 1972-05-20 | 2 | 29°04'N / 81°18'W | 1.00 Mile | 23 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Volusia | |
| 46.4 | 2007-02-02 | 3 | 28°57'N / 81°35'W | 29°00'N / 81°22'W | 13.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 13 | 9 | 46.0M | 0K | Lake |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The mesocyclone that produced the Lady Lake tornado reintensified and produced a second F3 tornado in a rural area west southwest of Paisley. The tornado move east northeast at over 50 MPH toward the Lake Mack area just west of the St. Johns river. The tornado produced a quarter mile wide track across the Lake Mack area destroying 86 residences and damaging 144. Many mobile homes were completely destroyed. Thirteen people died in mobile homes. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track. | |||||||||||
| 47.7 | 2006-12-25 | 2 | 29°01'N / 81°18'W | 29°04'N / 81°16'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0K | Volusia |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An F2 tornado touched down just west of North Stone Street in Deland and moved northeast crossing Highway 17. It moved across the Fernwood mobile home community and continued northeast over Meadowlea Estates mobile home community. It lifted just north of Carter Road. Fifty two residences were destroyed and 162 were damaged. Five people were seriously injured. EPISODE NARRATIVE: On December 24th an area of surface low pressure developed in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of a strong upper level trough and an associated powerful branch of the subtropical jet. As this low pressure system moved into Florida, a squall line developed over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and then moved rapidly into Florida . The squall line spawned severe thunderstorms and tornadoes moving east and northeast at around 50 MPH. | |||||||||||
| 47.9 | 1957-06-08 | 2 | 30°18'N / 81°44'W | 0.90 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Duval | |
| 47.9 | 1983-11-20 | 2 | 29°17'N / 81°03'W | 29°19'N / 81°00'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Volusia |
| 48.0 | 1968-08-30 | 2 | 29°17'N / 81°02'W | 2.00 Miles | 127 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Volusia | |
| 48.4 | 2001-03-29 | 2 | 28°59'N / 82°22'W | 29°08'N / 82°07'W | 22.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.5M | 0 | Marion |
| Brief Description: More than 85 homes were damaged in three neighborhoods, knocking power out to 10,000 thousand of residents. | |||||||||||
| 49.3 | 2007-02-02 | 3 | 28°53'N / 81°57'W | 28°55'N / 81°46'W | 11.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 8 | 10 | 52.0M | 0K | Lake |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The the tornado that moved out of Sumter County, crossed into Lake County just west of Lady Lake. The one quarter mile wide, F3 tornado moved across the Lady Lake area killing 8 people and injuring 10. The tornado damaged 180 residences and destroyed 101. All of the fatalities were in mobile homes. Moving east northeast at 50 MPH, the tornado lifted near Emrald Marsh Lake. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track. | |||||||||||
| 49.5 | 1974-05-12 | 2 | 30°17'N / 82°04'W | 30°19'N / 81°50'W | 14.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Duval |
| 49.6 | 1998-02-22 | 2 | 29°10'N / 81°06'W | 29°13'N / 81°02'W | 8.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 3 | 4.0M | 0 | Volusia |
| Brief Description: The first tornado in a major tornado outbreak set down along Route 92 about 5 miles southwest of Daytona Beach. The category F2 tornado moved about 8 miles to the northeast passing over the junction of Interstate 95 and Interstate 4 and finally lifted in the south part of Daytona Beach west of the Intracoastal Waterway. Six hundred structures were damaged or destroyed. One person was killed in a mobile home and three others were injured. M41MH | |||||||||||
| 50.0 | 2007-02-02 | 3 | 29°00'N / 81°22'W | 29°02'N / 81°09'W | 13.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 42 | 52.0M | 0K | Volusia |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado that killed 13 people in the Lake Mack area of Lake County moved east across the St. Johns River, crossed into Volusia county at Lake Beresford and moved across Deland as an F3 tornado. It was still moving east northeast at 50 MPH as it damaged 277 and destroyed 106 residences in the Deland area. The tornado finally lifted about eight miles east of Deland along Highway 44. There were no fatalities in Volusia County but 42 people were injured. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track. | |||||||||||
| 50.0 | 2007-02-02 | 3 | 29°00'N / 81°22'W | 29°02'N / 81°09'W | 13.00 Miles | 450 Yards | 0 | 42 | 52.0M | 0K | Volusia |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado that killed 13 people in the Lake Mack area of Lake County moved east across the St. Johns River, crossed into Volusia county at Lake Beresford and moved across Deland as an F3 tornado. It was still moving east northeast at 50 MPH as it damaged 277 and destroyed 106 residences in the Deland area. The tornado finally lifted about eight miles east of Deland along Highway 44. There were no fatalities in Volusia County but 42 people were injured. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A series of powerful tornadoes swept across Sumter, Lake and Volusia counties during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. A discontinuous swath of tornado damage was observed from near Wildwood in Sumter County to the town of Lady Lake (Lake County) to New Smyrna Beach (Volusia County). This was a distance of over 70 miles. A total of 21 fatalities occurred within Lake County. Central Florida was located in the warm sector ahead of an advancing cold front. Large scale lift was supported by a very strong jet aloft, with strong vertical shear. Instability increased overnight with temperatures and dew points increasing through the pre-dawn hours. A single long-tracked supercell thunderstorm traveled from Sumter County to the coastal waters of Volusia County during the early morning hours of February 2, 2007. Three tornadoes touched down along this track. | |||||||||||
* 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.