Florida, 1979
The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.
NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.
Events by hazard
Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1979 was 141 against 186 in 1978.
Counties with the most recorded events
Notable events
| Date | County | Event type | Magnitude | Property damage | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 May 1979 | Polk | Tornado | F2 | $25,000,000 | 1 | 40 |
| 9 Jul 1979 | Brevard | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | 6 |
| 8 May 1979 | Volusia | Tornado | F1 | $2,500,000 | — | 6 |
| 23 Mar 1979 | Pasco | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 6 |
| 12 Sep 1979 | Escambia | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 4 |
| 24 May 1979 | Broward | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | 2 |
| 24 Jan 1979 | DeSoto | Tornado | — | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | 1 |
| 8 May 1979 | Pasco | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 24 Aug 1979 | Lee | Tornado | F0 | $25,000 | — | 1 |
| 13 Jan 1979 | Palm Beach | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 1979 | Brevard | Tornado | F2 | $2,500,000 | — | — |
| 24 May 1979 | Pasco | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Martin | Tornado | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Manatee | Tornado | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Lee | Tornado | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Highlands | Tornado | — | $250,000 | — | — |
| 5 May 1979 | Volusia | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Pinellas | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Pinellas | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | Hillsborough | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 8 May 1979 | St. Lucie | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 1 Sep 1979 | Pinellas | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 1979 | Indian River | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 1979 | Brevard | Tornado | F0 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 1979 | Volusia | Tornado | F2 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 3 Sep 1979 | Volusia | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 4 Apr 1979 | Calhoun | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 4 Apr 1979 | Gadsden | Tornado | F1 | $250,000 | — | — |
| 11 Jul 1979 | Marion | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 11 Jul 1979 | St. Johns | Tornado | F1 | $25,000 | — | — |
| 24 Jan 1979 | Volusia | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 12 Jan 1979 | Okeechobee | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 12 Jan 1979 | Brevard | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
| 21 Jan 1979 | Brevard | Tornado | — | $25,000 | — | — |
Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.
Federal disaster declarations in 1979
| Declared | Number | Type | Incident | Title | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1979 | DR-607 | Major disaster | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | 3 |
| 13 Sep 1979 | DR-600 | Major disaster | Hurricane | Hurricane Frederic | 5 |
| 15 May 1979 | DR-586 | Major disaster | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding | 4 |
| 24 Mar 1979 | EM-3075 | Emergency | Flood | Severe Storms & Flooding | 2 |
Flood insurance claims with a 1979 date of loss
6,744 NFIP claims, 3,890 of them paid, for $17,257,372.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.