Storm risk in Polk County, Florida

FEMA rates Polk County Relatively High for natural-hazard risk overall, 110th of 3,144 rated counties. For a roof the three that matter are hail (Relatively Moderate), strong wind (Very High) and tornado (Relatively High). NOAA logged 33 hail reports here from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. Planning-level county ratings.

Polk County: FEMA National Risk Index scores for overall risk, hail, strong wind and tornado, each on a scale of 0 to 100Overall riskOverall risk: score 96.5, Relatively High, 110th of 3,144 rated counties97Relatively High, 110th of 3,144HailHail: score 73.4, Relatively Moderate, 837th of 3,126 rated counties73Relatively Moderate, 837th of 3,126Strong windStrong wind: score 99.9, Very High, 5th of 3,121 rated counties100Very High, 5th of 3,121TornadoTornado: score 93.9, Relatively High, 193rd of 3,144 rated counties94Relatively High, 193rd of 3,144

Each dot is the county’s score from 0 to 100 against all rated U.S. counties; the bar colour is FEMA’s rating band.

Hazard by hazard

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in FLExpected yearly loss
OverallRelatively High 96.511013 of 67$183,247,696buildings
HailRelatively Moderate 73.48376 of 67$226,756buildings
Strong windVery High 99.952 of 67$21,908,827buildings
TornadoRelatively High 93.919316 of 67$9,387,539all exposure

Rank 1 is the highest score. Expected annual loss is a county total in dollars per year, not a figure per home; the overall, hail and wind rows count buildings only, the tornado row all exposure.

Polk County in plain numbers

  • FEMA's overall rating for Polk County is Relatively High, score 96.5 of 100, 110th of 3,144 rated counties.
  • Hail: Relatively Moderate (score 73.4), 837th nationwide and 6th of 67 counties in Florida.
  • Expected yearly hail loss to buildings: $226,756 for the whole county, about $2.01 per $1 million of building value.
  • NRI's hail record averages 2.2 hail events a year in the county.
  • Strong wind: Very High (score 99.9), 5th nationwide; expected yearly loss to buildings $21,908,827, about $193.73 per $1 million of building value.
  • Tornado: Relatively High (score 93.9), 193rd nationwide; total expected yearly loss $9,387,539.
  • Buildings in the county are valued at 113.1 billion dollars in the index; population 721,918.
  • Social vulnerability is rated Relatively Moderate and community resilience Relatively Low.
  • NOAA logged 33 hail reports in Polk County from 2014 to June 2026; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 15 days and the largest stone was 2 inches.
  • 1 of our cities is in the county: Lakeland.
  • 40 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have more than half of their land area in Polk County.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Lakeland is $6,440 to $14,260.
  • NOAA lists 10 tornado tracks in the county since 2014.

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s storm reports show where inside it the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Polk County

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  • 201 to 1.74 in
  • 71.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

27 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Cities and ZIP areas in Polk County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 40 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Lakeland 33801 (100%), 33803 (100%), 33805 (100%), 33809 (100%), 33813 (100%) Roofers

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Polk County?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Polk County Relatively High overall. By peril: hail Relatively Moderate, strong wind Very High, tornado Relatively High. The highest-scoring of the three for this county is strong wind (score 99.9).

How many hail reports has NOAA logged in Polk County?

33 reports between 2014 and June 2026 in NOAA's Storm Events Database. A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is a county total, not a figure per home, and it is built for comparing counties, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties at planning level. It cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

How does Polk County compare with the rest of Florida?

For hail it ranks 6th of 67 rated counties in the state; for strong wind 2nd of 67; for tornado 16th of 67.

Other Florida counties

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020). This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset 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). Planning-level information, not an inspection and not insurance advice.