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Avon Park, Florida

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Avon Park census division. It lies in ZIP code area 33825. The Survey maps it on the Avon Park quadrangle. 9,658 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 121 feet above sea level.

Avon Park within Highlands County

Then and now

1953 to 1988

The same ground, surveyed 35 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Avon Park, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Avon Park, surveyed 1953

Compare 1953 against another survey:

On record in Avon Park

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Avon Park grew from 8,836 to 9,658 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20108,836
20209,658+822 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

353 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 353 fires within 5 miles of Avon Park between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,450 acres in total. 30 started naturally. 63 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism63
Debris and open burning63
Equipment and vehicle use61
Railroad operations and maintenance57
Natural30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Misuse of fire by a minor18
Recreation and ceremony13
Power generation/transmission/distribution11
Fireworks7
Smoking5
Other causes2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
3 September 2000Debris and open burning1.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
28 September 2006Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreFlorida Forest Service(HI) TROJAN (1502)
27 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest Service(HI) ILLEAGAL BURN (1498)
24 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined32 acresFlorida Forest ServiceYARBOROUGH (28 )
23 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceGRAHAM (28)
23 September 2015Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceCOD TRAIL (28)
22 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceAVON BLVD(28)
20 September 1996Railroad operations and maintenance2.5 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Highlands County

Storms near this place

32 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avon Park in 32 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 14 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 4 tornado, 3 heavy rain. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1997Thunderstorm WindAvon Park1 hurt, $60,000Thunderstorm winds caused minor to moderate damage to the roofs of two mobile homes, tore off the awnings of a few homes and downed several trees in a trailer park in Avon Park. Several roadside billboards were toppled or splintered by thunderstorm winds along U.S. Highway 27 south of Avon Park.Two businesses in Avon Park received roof and gate damage from the thunderstorm wind. One person received minor cuts at the Bonnie Brae Estates mobile home park when the thunderstorm wind blew the roof off an extension to her mobile home.
March 1998Tornado (F1)Avon Park$437,000no account filed
July 2008LightningAvon Park$290,000Lightning struck the garage of a house on North Rehrer Road and started a fire that destroyed the entire house and two cars.
March 1998Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$150,000Downburst winds from a thunderstorm caused structural damage to several metal buildings and sheds along State Road 64 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 in Avon Park. The downburst winds blew from north northwest to south southeast which damaged several north facing roof overhangs and facades of commercial buildings along State Road 64.
September 1999FloodAvon Park$50,000Three to five inches of rain fell in less than three hours and caused localized flooding of homes, businesses and woodlands in low-lying areas along the U.S. Highway 27 corridor from Avon Park to Venus.
July 1998FloodAvon Park$50,000Four to six inches of heavy rain fell in less than three hours and caused localized flooding of low lying areas along the U.S. Highway 17 corridor between Avon Park and Sebring. A few homes and several vehicles incurred water damage in the Highland Lakes area near Avon Park.
April 1993Tornado (F0)Avon Park$50,000A small tornado moved through the Mobile Home Village at Charlie Creek on SR 64 near Avon Park damaging 14 mobile homes.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$30,000Thunderstorm winds caused minor damage to the roofs, porches, lanais and carports of few homes along the U.S. Highway 27 corridor between Avon Park and Sebring.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$25,000Highlands County EM relayed reports and pictures of 2 barns damaged by straight-line winds associated with a downburst from thunderstorms in the area. Mostly minor damage consisting of metal siding or roofing peeled away from the structures.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$15,000no account filed
August 2005LightningAvon Park$10,000Lightning struck a tree then trenched its way to a storage shed that caught fire. The shed and its contents of generators were a total loss but heavy rains kept the fire from spreading to a nearby group home.
January 1998Tornado (F0)Avon Park$10,000A tornado briefly touched down and blew over five to seven toppers at a recreational vehicle dealership along U.S. Highway 27 before it lifted and dissipated.
February 1998Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$10,000Thunderstorm winds removed the roof of a shed and downed several power lines in Avon Park.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$10,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees which damaged the roofs of a few homes in Avon Park.
March 2003Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$5,000A stationary thunderstorm blew the roof off a gabled secion of a roof-over of a mobile home
April 1997Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed a few antennas, power lines and trees in Avon Park.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed two large trees onto a house which caused moderate structural damage. Another house in the same vicinity received minor roof damage from thunderstorm winds. Several fences were ripped down and a numerous large trees were downed.
November 2015Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$3,000Florida Department of Emergency Management relayed a report of a secondary roof pulled off of an older mobile home that downed a power line in Avon Park, along with a trampoline flipped over.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$2,500The large business sign at the Market 27 store in Avon Park was destroyed.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindAvon Park$2,000Power lines were downed near Avon Park. There were also numerous reports of damage received from across the county.
June 2022HailAvon Park-Social media video showed estimated quarter size hail near Avon Park.
July 2015HailAvon Park-Employees of the Market 27 store in Avon Park reported quarter size hail.
August 2008Heavy RainAvon Park-The observer recorded 9.49 inches of rain.
September 2004Heavy RainAvon Park-A National Weather Service observer recorded 5.97" of rain.
September 2004Heavy RainAvon Park-A National Weather Service observer two miles east of Avon Park recorded 6.37".
May 1998HailAvon Park-Dime sized hail was reported at the Avon Park Municipal Airport.
April 1997Tornado (F0)Avon Park-A tornado briefly touched down over a rural, semi-wooded area of extreme western Highlands county near County Road 634 with no apparent damage.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindAvon Park-Thunderstorm winds blew a shed off it's foundation.
May 1998HailAvon Park-no account filed
May 1998HailAvon Park-no account filed
June 1997HailAvon Park-no account filed
July 1995HailAvon Park-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Highlands County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Highland Lakes2.8 miles16
Alpine3.0 miles14
Avon Park Lakes3.2 miles16
Lakemont4.6 miles15
Sebring Shores4.7 miles15
Sebring7.7 miles14
De Soto City11.9 miles14
Kuhlman14.6 miles14

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Avon ParkAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q791286The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 278007. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.