Highlands County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Highlands County is about the same as Florida average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Highlands County is much lower than Florida average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #48
| Highlands County | 0.00 |
| 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
| Highlands 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, #48
| Highlands County | 110.20 |
| 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 6,434 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Highlands 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: | 20 | Dense Fog: | 43 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 588 | Hail: | 1,719 | Heat: | 4 | Heavy Snow: | 0 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 8 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 30 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 2,604 | Tropical Storm: | 9 | Wildfire: | 56 | Winter Storm: | 0 | Winter Weather: | 1 |
| Other: | 1,352 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Highlands County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Highlands County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Highlands County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 18 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Highlands County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 5.7 | 1982-06-17 | 2 | 27°25'N / 81°23'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 9 | 0K | 0 | Highlands | |
| 8.3 | 1983-02-02 | 2 | 27°27'N / 81°24'W | 1.00 Mile | 40 Yards | 1 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Highlands | |
| 9.1 | 1971-06-18 | 2 | 27°13'N / 81°23'W | 1.00 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Highlands | |
| 19.1 | 1982-09-26 | 2 | 27°23'N / 81°02'W | 4.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 1 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Okeechobee | |
| 32.4 | 1970-02-03 | 2 | 27°13'N / 81°51'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | De Soto | |||
| 32.6 | 1951-12-18 | 2 | 27°47'N / 81°32'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 33.4 | 1958-01-26 | 2 | 27°13'N / 81°52'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | De Soto | |||
| 33.4 | 1983-12-12 | 2 | 27°13'N / 81°52'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | De Soto | |
| 34.5 | 1983-03-21 | 2 | 27°15'N / 80°50'W | 27°19'N / 80°44'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 2.5M | 0 | Okeechobee |
| 34.8 | 1969-11-14 | 2 | 27°18'N / 80°48'W | 27°18'N / 80°45'W | 3.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Okeechobee |
| 36.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 37.7 | 1982-06-17 | 2 | 26°47'N / 81°29'W | 26°50'N / 81°27'W | 4.00 Miles | 17 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Glades |
| 39.8 | 1951-12-18 | 2 | 27°45'N / 81°48'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 41.2 | 1963-02-19 | 2 | 27°54'N / 81°35'W | 0.20 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Polk | |
| 42.0 | 1982-06-17 | 2 | 26°43'N / 81°30'W | 26°47'N / 81°29'W | 4.00 Miles | 17 Yards | 1 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Hendry |
| 42.4 | 1963-05-29 | 2 | 27°54'N / 81°38'W | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Polk | |||
| 47.5 | 1963-11-10 | 2 | 26°59'N / 82°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 27 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Charlotte | |
| 48.0 | 1986-02-08 | 2 | 27°53'N / 81°50'W | 2.00 Miles | 10 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 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.