Florida Hurricane Wind Zones

There are no zone 1 counties in florida.

Florida hurricane wind zones. Buildings structures 185 mph broward county risk category i. According to the fbc south florida has the strictest building regulations which can be difficult to navigate without a roofing expert by your side. Models also project greater rainfall rates in hurricanes in a warmer climate with increases of about 20 averaged near the center of hurricanes protecting lives is top priority when a hurricane or severe storm blows through town but high velocity hurricane zones hvhz homes and buildings are a close second. Most but not all sections of the hvhz are more stringent than non hvhz.

No other counties in the state have an f zone except the northeast florida counties for now. Wind borne debris region where design speeds are greater than 120 mph or greater than 110 mph if within 1 mile of the coast. Risk categories for wind speeds in high velocity hurricane zones hvhz miami dade county risk category i. Except the florida panhandle where the region lies within 1 mile of the coast.

Buildings structures 156 mph risk category ii. Buildings structures 175 mph risk category iii. Many chapters of the florida code offer an hvhz and non hvhz section of the code. Counties who use designated evacuation zones will use these letters when they order evacuations.

The two main requirements are. High velocity hurricane zone of miami dade and broward counties. The fbc created high velocity hurricane zone and set out hurricane provisions specifically for florida. Building products in certain counties in florida are tested by high velocity hurricane zone hvhz program s high standards of performance.

Wind zone 4 consists of areas with a wind speed of greater than 170 mph and miami dade and broward counties. The following counties shown in gray in the map below are wind zone 3. As in previous editions of the fbcb a single wind speed is used for the hvhz for each risk category map. The main difference between wind zones 1 3 and wind zone 4 are the number of impacts required and the deflection limits.

Buildings structures 165 mph risk category ii. The design wind speeds in the hvhz are as follows. Areas where wind speeds exceed 120mph or are greater than 110mph within close proximity to the coast 1 mile to be exact requires extra hurricane protection against wind born debris. It is a special section of the florida building code 2017 fbc as of this writing which lays out special codes which apply to these counties.

All the rest are zone 2. Broward charlotte collier dade franklin gulf hendry lee manatee martin monroe palm beach pinellas and sarasota counties. The high velocity hurricane zone or hvhz in florida encompasses only miami dade and broward counties.