Suwannee County, FL Environment & Hazard Risk
Relatively Low natural hazard risk, led by hurricane. 415 storm events since 1996.
- Expected yearly loss
- $24.51M
- Relatively Low nationally
- Storm events since 1996
- 415
- Most often thunderstorm wind
- Flood insurance policies
- 436
- 2.1% of homes
- Hurricanes nearby
- 3
- 19 tropical storms or stronger since 1880
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025
Overall risk
Relatively Low
Score 71.3 of 100
Social vulnerability
Relatively High
Score 60.1 of 100
Community resilience
Very Low
Score 5.2 of 100
Community resilience runs the other way: a higher rating means a community can recover faster.
Building value exposed: $6.75B · Agriculture value exposed: $333M · Risk-adjusted yearly loss: $31.14M
Risk by hazard
- HurricaneRelatively High$12.18M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 5 years
- LightningRelatively High$677K/yr expected annual loss, about 81 events a year
- WildfireRelatively Low$401K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 512 years
- Cold waveRelatively Low$1.23M/yr expected annual loss, about 1.8 events a year
- Heat waveRelatively Low$444K/yr expected annual loss, about 4.0 events a year
- TornadoRelatively Low$1.08M/yr expected annual loss, about once every 4 years
- EarthquakeVery Low$172K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1,049 years
- DroughtRelatively Low$35.09K/yr expected annual loss, about 14 events a year
- Strong windRelatively Low$155K/yr expected annual loss, about once every 1 year
- LandslideVery Low$67/yr expected annual loss, about once every 10 years
- Winter weatherVery Low$5,907/yr expected annual loss, about once every 6 years
- HailVery Low$12.36K/yr expected annual loss, about 1.1 events a year
Bars show the national percentile score (0 to 100) for each hazard. Dollar figures are expected annual losses to buildings, people and crops. Not rated here: avalanche, coastal flooding, ice storm, riverine flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Flood risk and insurance
National Flood Insurance Program and FEMA flood maps
Check the flood zone for an address
- Homes with flood insurance
- 436 of 20,585 (2.1%)
- Homes in high-risk flood zones
- 1,486
- Insured in high-risk zones
- 298 (20%)
- Flood claims since 1978
- 364
- Claims paid since 1978
- $8.35M
Flood claims paid per year
- Tropical Storm Debby$3M · 74 claims
- Hurricane Debby$2.98M · 47 claims
- Hurricane Jeanne$270K · 20 claims
- Hurricane Josephine$75.88K · 4 claims
- Hurricane Hermine$53.6K · 2 claims
- Blizzard of 1993$50.79K · 3 claims
Storm history
Since 1996: 415 events, 0 deaths, $9.06M in damage
- Thunderstorm Wind237
- Hail53
- Heavy Rain52
- Tornado17
- Flash Flood12
- Tropical Storm10
- Drought9
- Flood8
- Funnel Cloud5
- Lightning5
Events per year
45 tornadoes on record (EF0 7, EF1 2, F0 16, F1 13, F2 6).
Most damaging storms
Since 1996, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage
- TornadoF2, 2 mi path, 100 yd wide09/30/1998
Live Oak, Suwannee County
5 injured, $600K damage
What happened
The tornado demolished seven homes and damaged at least 5 others. Two residents received serious injuries.
- Flood03/01/1998
Suwannee
$5.5M damage
What happened
Total flooding related to El Nino, More than 2800 homes and more than 175 businesses destroyed.
- Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind06/07/2014
Falmouth, Suwannee County
1 injured
What happened
A tree fell across a road and car. The driver was injured. Time of damage estimated from radar imagery.
- Lightning07/09/2013
Live Oak, Suwannee County
1 injured
What happened
A victim was struck near 74th Terrace and County Road 795 on the north side of Live Oak. Minor injuries were reported and the victim was transported to the hospital.
- Thunderstorm Wind02/17/1998
Live Oak, Suwannee County
$900K damage
What happened
More than 15 semi-trailers were overturned. Chicken processing plant damaged. One mobile home was distroyed. Large trees and power lines were blown down.
- TornadoEF1, 2.16 mi path, 200 yd wide04/01/2009
Ellaville, Suwannee County
$750K damage
What happened
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.
Latest storm reports
Newest first
- Heavy Rain07/31/2026
Pine Mount, Suwannee County
- Thunderstorm Wind39 kt wind07/30/2026
Live Oak, Suwannee County
$15K damage
- Thunderstorm Wind45 kt wind07/18/2026
Mc Alpin, Suwannee County
$3,000 damage
- Thunderstorm Wind50 kt wind07/11/2026
Live Oak Suwane Arpt, Suwannee County
$20K damage
- Drought07/01/2026
Suwannee
- Drought06/01/2026
Suwannee
- Drought05/01/2026
Suwannee
- Drought04/01/2026
Suwannee
Hurricanes and tropical storms
Storms whose track crossed Suwannee County, with the wind when it passed
- Hurricane Debby (2024)08/02/2024 · Landfall: FL, SC · 979 mbCategory 175 mph nearby
- Hurricane Irma (2017)08/30/2017 · Landfall: VI, FL · 914 mbTropical storm58 mph nearby
- Tropical Storm Colin (2016)06/05/2016 · Landfall: FL · 987 mbTropical storm52 mph nearby
- Tropical Storm Andrea (2013)06/06/2013 · Landfall: FL · 992 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Hurricane Gordon (2000)09/14/2000 · Landfall: FL · 981 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1976)05/21/1976 · 994 mbTropical storm46 mph nearby
- Subtropical Storm Alpha (1972)05/24/1972 · 988 mbTropical storm40 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1971)08/13/1971 · Landfall: FL · 1,002 mbTropical storm40 mph nearby
- Unnamed storm (1966)06/28/1966 · Landfall: FL · 1,004 mbTropical storm40 mph nearby
- Hurricane Dora (1964)08/28/1964 · Landfall: FL · 942 mbCategory 175 mph nearby
Drinking water
7 community water systems serve about 13,310 people. Violations since 2021.
None of the systems serving this county had a health-based violation in this period.
- Live Oak WtpServes 6,850 · Groundwater (surface influenced) · Local governmentNo health violations+6 monitoring or reporting
- Suwannee Correctional InstituteServes 3,950 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+7 monitoring or reporting
- Advent Christian VillageServes 800 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+23 monitoring or reporting
- Branford WtpServes 800 · Groundwater · Local governmentNo health violations+4 monitoring or reporting
- Wellborn Water SystemServes 500 · Groundwater · Public and privateNo health violations+1 monitoring or reporting
- Wayne Frier's Mobile Home ParkServes 310 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+13 monitoring or reporting
- Florida Sheriff's Boys RanchServes 100 · Groundwater · PrivateNo health violations+3 monitoring or reporting
Largest systems by population served. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or notices were late or missing, not that the water was unsafe.
Climate
1991-2020 normals at Live Oak, 9.1 mi from the county center
Summer highs peak around 94°F in Jul and winter lows bottom out near 45°F in Jan. About 51.9 inches of rain falls in a typical year.
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68°F | 45°F | 4.82 in |
| Feb | 72°F | 48°F | 3.50 in |
| Mar | 78°F | 52°F | 5.01 in |
| Apr | 84°F | 58°F | 3.50 in |
| May | 90°F | 65°F | 2.62 in |
| Jun | 92°F | 72°F | 6.78 in |
| Jul | 94°F | 74°F | 6.39 in |
| Aug | 93°F | 74°F | 5.59 in |
| Sep | 90°F | 71°F | 4.99 in |
| Oct | 84°F | 62°F | 4.04 in |
| Nov | 76°F | 52°F | 2.11 in |
| Dec | 70°F | 47°F | 2.54 in |
| Year | 71°F average | 51.9 in | |
Pollution sites
1 Superfund site and 4 toxic release facilities in Suwannee County
Superfund sites
- Brown Wood PreservingDeletedLive Oak
Toxic release facilities
- Pilgrim's Pride Live Oak Processing Plant446,523 lbs released, Live Oak
- Suwannee American Cement40,810 lbs released, Branford
- Binderholz Live Oak LLC0 lbs released, Live Oak
- Pilgrim's Pride Live Oak Feed Mill0 lbs released, Live Oak
Total: 487,333 lbs in 2024, 70,629 lbs to air.
Superfund sitesToxic release facilitiesEPA inspections and enforcementAir toxics cancer risk7 historic places
Frequently asked questions
- How risky is Suwannee County for natural disasters?
- FEMA rates Suwannee County relatively low for overall natural hazard risk, with expected losses of $24.51M a year. The highest-rated hazards are hurricane (relatively high), lightning (relatively high), wildfire (relatively low).
- What storms are most common in Suwannee County?
- Since 1996, NOAA recorded 415 storm events affecting Suwannee County, most often thunderstorm wind (237), hail (53), heavy rain (52).
- How many tornadoes have hit Suwannee County?
- 45 tornadoes have been recorded in Suwannee County since 1950.
- How many homes in Suwannee County have flood insurance?
- 436 residential flood insurance policies are in force in Suwannee County, covering about 2.1% of homes. The program has paid $8.35M on 364 claims here since 1978.
- What is the weather like in Suwannee County?
- At Live Oak, average highs reach 94°F in Jul and lows fall to 45°F in Jan, with 51.9 inches of rain a year (1991-2020 normals).
Source: FEMA (National Risk Index, NFIP), NOAA (Storm Events, HURDAT2, Climate Normals), EPA · Last updated 08/01/2026 · Storm counts include events in forecast zones that touch the county. This product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA.