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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bushnell, FL

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated

74 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Bushnell, Florida since 1851, 20 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Milton in 2024. Since 1950, 122 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
20

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
54

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
122

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
3

13 deaths in all

What the records show for Bushnell

The strongest storm to pass near Bushnell was an unnamed storm in 1896, a Category 3 hurricane with 127 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1928, whose centre came within 3 miles. The record near Bushnell begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Milton in 2024, a Category 1 hurricane 60 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 9 systems, 3 of them at hurricane strength. Of the 74 systems, 10 have come since 2000. Of the 407 Florida cities on this site, 71% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Bushnell. The highest rating among the 122 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on February 2, 2007, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an EF3 on February 2, 2007, killed 8 people. Of the 122, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on May 12, 2025. Bushnell has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 49% of the 407 Florida cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 20 times since 1955, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 407 Florida cities, 78% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Bushnell.

Compare Bushnell's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bushnell

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bushnell, Florida, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024MiltonOct 1060 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 5
2022NicoleNov 1011 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 1
2020EtaNov 1258 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 4
2017IrmaSep 1113 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 5
2016JuliaSep 1362 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
2008FayAug 2259 miTropical storm (58 mph)Tropical storm
2004JeanneSep 2617 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 3
2004FrancesSep 639 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
2004CharleyAug 1444 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 4
2001GabrielleSep 1441 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1995JerryAug 2428 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1995ErinAug 226 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 2
1990MarcoOct 1155 miTropical storm (43 mph)Tropical storm
1988KeithNov 2370 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1984IsidoreSep 288 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1982Unnamed 1982 stormJun 1833 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1968GladysOct 1922 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 2
1968BrendaJun 1964 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
1966Unnamed 1966 stormJul 158 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1965Unnamed 1965 stormOct 1842 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1964CleoAug 2865 miTropical storm (56 mph)Category 4
1960DonnaSep 1135 miCategory 1 (76 mph)Category 4
1959Unnamed 1959 stormJun 1823 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1953Unnamed 1953 stormSep 2041 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1950KingOct 1832 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 4
1950EasySep 623 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 3
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2719 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 4
1947Unnamed 1947 stormSep 2338 miTropical storm (63 mph)Tropical storm
1946Unnamed 1946 stormOct 821 miCategory 1 (74 mph)Category 2
1945Unnamed 1945 stormSep 1628 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 4
1945Unnamed 1945 stormJun 2415 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 2
1944Unnamed 1944 stormOct 197 miCategory 1 (83 mph)Category 4
1941Unnamed 1941 stormOct 2057 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1939Unnamed 1939 stormAug 1240 miTropical storm (60 mph)Category 1
1937Unnamed 1937 stormAug 3050 miTropical storm (56 mph)Tropical storm
1937Unnamed 1937 stormJul 305 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1936Unnamed 1936 stormAug 2250 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1933Unnamed 1933 stormSep 422 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1930Unnamed 1930 stormSep 962 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormSep 173 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 5
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 915 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 2
1926Unnamed 1926 stormJul 2871 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 4
1921Unnamed 1921 stormOct 269 miCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 4
1920Unnamed 1920 stormSep 3035 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 1
1916Unnamed 1916 stormMay 15overheadTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 264 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 1
1910Unnamed 1910 stormOct 1815 miTropical storm (64 mph)Category 4
1909Unnamed 1909 stormJun 2916 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1906Unnamed 1906 stormOct 2145 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1899Unnamed 1899 stormOct 516 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1898Unnamed 1898 stormAug 253 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1897Unnamed 1897 stormSep 2151 miTropical storm (52 mph)Tropical storm
1896Unnamed 1896 stormSep 2968 miCategory 3 (127 mph)Category 3
1894Unnamed 1894 stormSep 2639 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 3
1892Unnamed 1892 stormOct 2461 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1889Unnamed 1889 stormJun 1752 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1888Unnamed 1888 stormOct 1166 miCategory 2 (105 mph)Category 2
1888Unnamed 1888 stormSep 826 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1887Unnamed 1887 stormOct 309 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 1
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 1933 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1880Unnamed 1880 stormOct 834 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 1
1880Unnamed 1880 stormAug 309 miTropical storm (69 mph)Category 2
1879Unnamed 1879 stormOct 2738 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1
1878Unnamed 1878 stormSep 1018 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 2
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 2659 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1874Unnamed 1874 stormSep 2855 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 1
1873Unnamed 1873 stormSep 237 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1872Unnamed 1872 stormOct 2326 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 1
1871Unnamed 1871 stormSep 662 miTropical storm (72 mph)Category 1
1871Unnamed 1871 stormAug 2511 miTropical storm (62 mph)Category 3
1871Unnamed 1871 stormAug 1713 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1859Unnamed 1859 stormOct 2843 miCategory 1 (89 mph)Category 1
1858Unnamed 1858 stormSep 1444 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1852Unnamed 1852 stormSep 1238 miTropical storm (67 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bushnell: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Bushnell

By decade

  • 2020s6
  • 2010s6
  • 2000s16(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s41
  • 1980s24(1 EF3+)
  • 1970s18
  • 1960s7
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Bushnell, Florida
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 2, 2007EF320 mi10.5 mi8 / 10
Apr 9, 1983F318 mi10 mi3 / 2
Feb 2, 2007EF316 mi5.67 mi0 / 15
Jan 7, 1995F223 mi12 mi1 / 20
Mar 12, 1993F223 mi30 mi1 / 60
Jun 25, 1988F216 mi2 mi0 / 0
Apr 15, 1987F26 mi12 mi0 / 0
Aug 31, 1985F219 mi5 mi0 / 0
Apr 9, 1982F222 mi3 mi0 / 1
Mar 7, 1971F217 mi0.3 mi0 / 0
Nov 13, 1969F210 mi3.4 mi0 / 1
Nov 9, 1968F26 mi29.6 mi0 / 4

The strongest 12 of 122, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Bushnell

The Storm Prediction Center has 20 hail reports within 10 miles of Bushnell since 1955, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 9 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently January 19, 2009. The most recent report is from March 20, 2018. March and June have the most reports, 6 each.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Bushnell

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brooksville Chin Hill, FL, 14 miles west of Bushnell at 240 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F; January is the coolest, at 71°F and 49°F. July is the wettest at 8.6 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 52.0 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 67% of the year's precipitation (34.6 of 52.0 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 74 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (25); a normal September there has highs of 89°F and 6.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 89 days a year, almost all from April to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 6 nights a year. That 52.0 inches is more than at 36 of the 125 Florida stations used on this site (29%). Center Hill, 10 miles east, has its own station (Leesburg Municipal Airport, FL): 43.8 inches a year, 8.2 less than here, and an August average high of 92°F against 90°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Brooksville Chin Hill, FL
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan71493.05
Feb74512.94
Mar78553.45
Apr83602.74
May88663.24
Jun90718.111
Jul91738.612
Aug90737.613
Sep89716.08
Oct84652.54
Nov78561.83
Dec73512.24
Year826252.076

Averages for 1991–2020 at Brooksville Chin Hill, FL (240 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.

Florida weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Bushnell

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 48 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bushnell: 44 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on December 25, 2006.

  • September 11, 2017: flood 8 miles from the centre of Bushnell — $5.0 million damage.

  • June 29, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Bushnell — $250,000 damage.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.

Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings

Flood insurance policyholders in Bushnell's ZIP code 33513 have filed 29 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1998, and were paid $544,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 72% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 340 Florida cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 42 have fewer than Bushnell.

Sumter County, which includes Bushnell, has been named in 34 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 hurricanes, 5 tropical storms, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Milton, on October 11, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sumter County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hurricanes, tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $46.1 million a year, the 37th highest of 67 Florida counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.3 million (40%), is from hurricanes.

Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.

Cities near Bushnell