Highlands County, FL: home risks and climate
FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Highlands County “Relatively Moderate” for overall risk relative to other US counties, 31st of 67 counties in Florida by risk score. The hazards rated Relatively High or Very High here are strong wind, hurricane and lightning. These are relative ratings, not probabilities.
Highlands County, FL
- Trim dead or overhanging branches before storm season.
- Check that gutters, siding and roof edges are fastened tight.
- Tie down or store outdoor furniture, grills and trampolines.
- Fit storm shutters or pre-cut, labeled plywood panels and store the fasteners with them.
- Photograph every room and your roof before the season starts, for your insurance file.
- Know your evacuation zone and where you would go.
- Use surge protection for electronics; ask an electrician about a whole-home surge protector.
- Keep trees near the house healthy and trimmed.
- Unplug sensitive electronics before a storm if you can.
- Look up your FEMA flood zone, and remember that "minimal hazard" zones still flood.
- Raise or move valuables, the furnace and the water heater off a basement floor where you can.
- Test the sump pump and its backup before the wet season.
- Pick the safe room: lowest floor, interior, no windows. Tell everyone in the house.
- Keep shoes, a flashlight and a helmet for each person there.
- Turn on wireless emergency alerts on every phone.
- Clear dead leaves and needles from gutters, the roof and under decks.
- Keep the first 5 feet around the house free of anything that burns (mulch, firewood, plants).
- Cover vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh to keep embers out.
- Know where the main water shutoff is and that it turns.
- Insulate pipes in unheated crawlspaces, garages and exterior walls.
- Have the heating system checked before winter.
- Watch for new cracks in foundations, walls and door frames; drought shrinks clay soils.
- Fix running toilets and dripping faucets.
- If you have a well, know its depth and recent yield.
- Photograph the roof and siding now, so you have a dated before picture.
- Ask about impact-rated (UL 2218 Class 4) shingles when the roof is replaced.
- Know your policy’s wind and hail deductible in dollars.
- Service the AC before the hot season and clear the outdoor unit of debris.
- Change the AC filter; a clogged filter cuts cooling.
- Plan a cool place to go if the power or AC fails.
- Strap the water heater to the wall with two straps.
- Secure tall furniture and TVs to studs.
- Know how to shut off gas at the meter, and only do it if you smell gas.
- Watch for new cracks in the ground, tilting trees or fences, and doors that stick.
- Keep gutters and drains directing water away from slopes.
- Know the signs of a debris flow during heavy rain.
Winterize outdoor faucets before ~Jan 8. Typical first 32°F night (50% date) at Sebring 23 Sse, 21 km away. Last freeze ~Feb 1.
Radon Zone 3: lowest predicted indoor radon. EPA recommends testing every home, whatever the zone.
- This monthPress the test button on every smoke and CO alarm.
- This monthCheck the date on the back of every smoke and CO alarm.
- This monthLook under every sink and around toilets and the water heater for drips.
- This monthClean gutters and downspouts after the leaves are down.
- WatchLook in the attic with a flashlight after the first big storm of the season.
- WatchRun the heat once before you need it; book a check if it has been a year.
What the records say
Plain-language summary of the numbers below, compared with Florida and the US.
By FEMA’s hazard scores (0 to 100, the share of US counties scoring lower), strong wind scores 99.8, hurricane scores 95.7 and lightning scores 95.3 in Highlands County, and modeled expected annual losses from all hazards come to about $46.7 million a year across 101,136 residents.
There have been 37 federal disaster declarations covering Highlands County in the OpenFEMA record, close to the Florida county median of 41 and above the national county median of 20; 13 came in the last ten years. The most recent was hurricane milton (2024-10-11).
Highlands County is part of the Sebring, FL metropolitan area.
Flood-insurance (NFIP) records list 202 claims in Highlands County, below the Florida county median of 1,554, 113 of them in the last ten years. Of claims with a recorded zone, 43% were outside the mapped high-risk flood zone.
Highlands County sits in climate zone 2A (hot-humid) in the hot-humid Building America region and EPA radon zone 3.
At Sebring 23 Sse (21 km from the county’s center), the typical first 32°F night is around Jan 8 and the last around Feb 1 (50% dates, 1991–2020), which sets when to winterize outdoor faucets.
All 18 hazards
FEMA National Risk Index December 2025. Ratings and scores are relative to other US counties, not probabilities. Expected annual loss is FEMA’s modeled average across buildings, people and agriculture.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Risk score | Expected annual loss | Recorded events | Prepare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong wind | Very High | 99.8 | $12.7M | 22 | Checklist |
| Hurricane | Relatively High | 95.7 | $15.7M | 108 | Checklist |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 95.3 | $1.1M | 562,537 | Checklist |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 92.7 | $1.3M | — | Checklist |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 82.5 | $2.6M | 21 | Checklist |
| Inland flooding | Relatively Moderate | 78.4 | $10.6M | 13 | Checklist |
| Cold wave | Relatively Moderate | 75.4 | $1.6M | 70 | Checklist |
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | 73.1 | $364,759 | 679 | Checklist |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 72.6 | $595,920 | 51 | Checklist |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 41.6 | $110,215 | 51 | Checklist |
| Landslide | Very Low | 30.8 | $194 | — | Checklist |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 28.0 | $35,719 | — | Checklist |
| Winter weather | No Rating | 0.0 | $0 | 0 | Checklist |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | Checklist |
| Ice storm | Not Applicable | — | — | — | Checklist |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | Checklist |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | Checklist |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | Checklist |
Federal disaster declarations
Each county-level declaration in OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, counted once per disaster number.
| Declared | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-11 | Hurricane Milton | DR · Hurricane |
| 2024-10-07 | Hurricane Milton | EM · Hurricane |
| 2024-08-10 | Hurricane Debby | DR · Tropical Storm |
| 2024-08-03 | Tropical storm Debby | EM · Tropical Storm |
| 2022-12-13 | Hurricane Nicole | DR · Hurricane |
| 2022-11-08 | Tropical storm Nicole | EM · Tropical Storm |
| 2022-09-29 | Hurricane Ian | DR · Hurricane |
| 2022-09-24 | Tropical storm Ian | EM · Hurricane |
| 2020-03-25 | COVID-19 pandemic | DR · Biological |
| 2020-03-13 | COVID-19 | EM · Biological |
| 2019-08-30 | Hurricane Dorian | EM · Hurricane |
| 2017-09-10 | Hurricane Irma | DR · Hurricane |
Showing the 12 most recent of 37.
Flood-insurance claims (NFIP)
Claims filed under the National Flood Insurance Program, from FEMA’s NfipClaims v3 dataset (all years on file), by year of loss.
Inside vs outside the mapped high-risk zone
By the rated flood zone recorded on each claim. Claims outside the high-risk zone are a reminder that “minimal hazard” is not “no hazard”. Check your own zone with an address in the Snapshot.
Climate, radon and freeze
This month’s plan for Highlands County
Region tasks plus this county’s hazard ratings and freeze dates. Add your ZIP and systems on the Home Plan page to subscribe in your calendar.
November6 tasks
- This monthPress the test button on every smoke and CO alarm.
An alarm you have not heard in months may have a dead battery or sensor. NFPA recommends testing smoke alarms at least once a month.
How
Hold the test button until it sounds. Anything silent or chirping: replace the battery, or the whole alarm if it is past its date.
- This monthCheck the date on the back of every smoke and CO alarm.
Smoke alarms wear out: NFPA advises replacing them 10 years after the manufacture date. CO alarms have their own end-of-life date printed on them.
How
Twist each alarm off its base and read the date. Replace any past its life; swap batteries in alarms that take them.
- This monthLook under every sink and around toilets and the water heater for drips.
Slow leaks rot cabinets and subfloors long before they show. Catching one early is a washer, not a floor.
How
Use a flashlight: feel supply lines and the shutoff valves, look for stains, warped cabinet floors or a toilet that rocks.
- This monthClean gutters and downspouts after the leaves are down.
Blocked gutters overflow at the foundation, rot fascia and, in cold climates, help ice dams form.
How
From a stable ladder (with a helper), scoop debris, then flush each downspout with a hose. Extensions should drop water 4 to 6 feet from the house.
- WatchLook in the attic with a flashlight after the first big storm of the season.
Stains on the roof deck, wet insulation or daylight around vents show leaks early, and droppings show pests.
How
Stay on the joists. Look around chimneys, vent pipes and valleys, the places most leaks start.
- WatchRun the heat once before you need it; book a check if it has been a year.
Heating sits idle for most of the year in warm climates and cold snaps arrive fast. A short test run finds problems while repairs are easy to book.
How
Switch to heat, raise the setpoint a few degrees and confirm warm air within a few minutes. A brief dusty smell is normal.
December4 tasks
- This weekBefore the first freeze (~Jan 8): disconnect hoses and drain outdoor faucets.
Water left in a hose bib can freeze, split the pipe inside the wall, and only leak when you turn it on in spring.
How
Remove hoses, close the indoor shutoff valve for each outdoor faucet if you have one, and open the outside faucet to drain it.
- This monthPress the test button on every smoke and CO alarm.
An alarm you have not heard in months may have a dead battery or sensor. NFPA recommends testing smoke alarms at least once a month.
How
Hold the test button until it sounds. Anything silent or chirping: replace the battery, or the whole alarm if it is past its date.
- WatchDegrease the range-hood filter.
Grease-clogged hood filters stop pulling smoke and grease out of the kitchen and can feed a stovetop fire.
How
Pop the metal filter out and soak it in hot water with dish soap and baking soda, or run it through the dishwasher if the maker allows.
- WatchReset sprinkler schedules for the cool season and test the rain sensor.
Lawns need far less water in winter; overwatering wastes water and keeps foundations wet.
How
Cut run times, check each zone for broken heads, and press the rain sensor test if it has one.
Neighbouring counties
Information, not insurance, legal or engineering advice. Ratings describe the county as a whole; your address can differ. Found an error? Send a correction.