That single value runs from Deerfield Beach to Hallandale and inland past Sunrise. Every Broward plan reviewer enforces it instead of the lower ASCE 7-22 map number.
Calculating wind loads since 2002, online since 2006.
Broward sits inside Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, the regulatory carve-out created after Hurricane Andrew exposed weak south-Florida construction.
The county's basic wind speed is fixed by Florida Building Code R301.2(7) at 170 mph for Risk Category II. That covers most single-family homes, townhomes, low-rise condos, and commercial structures.
The number is jurisdictional. It is not interpolated from a ZIP centroid, it does not vary block by block, and it does not drop as you move inland.
Coral Springs designs to 170. Davie designs to 170. Fort Lauderdale designs to 170. The R301.2(7) amendment was written to end the inland-vs-coastal arguments that plagued earlier permit reviews.
What does scale with location is the exposure category, which captures terrain roughness, plus the height-dependent velocity pressure term Kz from ASCE 7-22 Table 26.10-1.
Pre-filled to Fort Lauderdale (33301). Edit the ZIP or risk category and the result updates live, citing whether the value comes from an FBC override or the ASCE 7-22 map.
Each Risk Category gets its own basic wind speed for the same county. Risk Cat II is the default for standard buildings; Risk Cat IV covers essential facilities like hospitals.
The countywide 170 mph value applies on Hollywood beach or 14 miles inland in Coral Springs. The setting column is informational — confirm exposure against ASCE 7-22 §26.7.
| City | Primary ZIP | Wind Speed (Cat II) | Typical Setting | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Lauderdale | 33301 | 170 mph | Coastal · Atlantic exposure | FBC R301.2(7) |
| Hollywood | 33020 | 170 mph | Coastal / barrier island | FBC R301.2(7) |
| Pompano Beach | 33060 | 170 mph | Coastal · barrier island | FBC R301.2(7) |
| Pembroke Pines | 33027 | 170 mph | Inland suburb | FBC R301.2(7) |
| Coral Springs | 33065 | 170 mph | Inland suburb (~12 mi) | FBC R301.2(7) |
| Davie | 33314 | 170 mph | Inland / mixed | FBC R301.2(7) |
Wilma crossed the peninsula into Broward as a strong Cat 2, but the structural lesson was breadth — its wind field stretched roughly 400 miles, hammering every ZIP at once.
Roof failures clustered in older construction with staple-fastened sheathing and shingles. Impact-rated openings, required since 1994 inside HVHZ, visibly outperformed older glazing.
Irma's eye missed Broward to the west, but the outer eyewall delivered sustained 75-85 mph winds with gusts over 100 mph from Hollywood up through Deerfield.
Insurance loss data showed a roughly 4-to-1 damage ratio between pre-1994 and post-1994 HVHZ-compliant homes — a real-world validation of the 170 mph design value.
Andrew struck just south in Miami-Dade, but Broward's southern neighborhoods absorbed the storm's northern eyewall.
The failures observed there fed directly into the original HVHZ provisions written into the 1994 code revision. Andrew is why Broward shares HVHZ status with Miami-Dade.
Florida Building Code Section 1620 defines the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone as Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Inside HVHZ, the wind speed override is the most visible change, but the bigger burden is product approval. Every exterior opening, roofing assembly, soffit panel, and wall cladding must carry a Miami-Dade NOA or an HVHZ-scoped Florida Product Approval.
The testing protocols are TAS 201 (large-missile impact: a 9-lb 2x4 fired at 50 ft/s, twice), TAS 202 (cyclic pressure for 9,000 cycles), and TAS 203 (small-missile impact above 30 feet).
Drawings submitted to Broward plan review must list the FL# or NOA# of every approved assembly. Any substitution requires an engineered alternative with a comparable test report.
Permits in Broward are issued by individual municipalities — not the county. All adopt the Florida Building Code 8th Edition (2023) without amendment and enforce 170 mph the same way.
Basic wind speed: 170 mph Risk Cat II (FBC R301.2(7))
Product approval: Miami-Dade NOA or FL Product Approval with HVHZ scope
Missile testing: TAS 201 large missile (every opening), TAS 203 small missile (above 30 ft)
Pressure testing: TAS 202 cyclic, 9,000 cycles
Permitting authority: Individual Broward municipalities, FBC 8th Edition (2023)
Yes. Broward sits inside Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone alongside Miami-Dade, defined by Florida Building Code Section 1620.
HVHZ designation triggers product approval requirements. Every window, door, shutter, and roofing assembly must carry a Miami-Dade NOA or comparable Florida Product Approval.
It must also pass TAS 201 large-missile impact, TAS 202 cyclic pressure, and TAS 203 small-missile testing.
Florida Building Code R301.2(7) assigns each HVHZ county its own jurisdictional wind speed table.
Miami-Dade is closer to the historical Cat-5 trajectory captured in the ASCE wind speed map (the Andrew 1992 corridor), so its Risk Cat II value is 175.
Broward, immediately north, gets 170. Both are HVHZ. Both supersede the ASCE map. The five-mph delta is a contour, not a code distinction.
Yes. Broward's FBC value is countywide. Coral Springs (ZIP 33065, roughly 12 miles inland), Pembroke Pines (33027), and Weston use the identical 170 mph Risk Cat II value that applies on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
The exposure category will differ — most inland Broward subdivisions qualify as Exposure B, while beachfront properties run Exposure C or D — but the basic wind speed entering the equation is the same number countywide.
170 mph for standard Risk Category II residential condos, or 180 mph if the building qualifies as Risk Category III (assembly occupancy over 300 people in a single space).
Many Hollywood beach towers also pick up Exposure D treatment because the unobstructed Atlantic fetch sits directly to the east.
The basic wind speed is fixed by county, but the effective design pressure scales up sharply with height through Kz.
No, not at the basic wind speed level. Both cities share Broward's 170 mph Risk Category II value.
The difference engineers encounter is exposure and topography: Pompano's barrier-island corridor and Fort Lauderdale's New River geometry both push coastal projects toward Exposure D, while subdivisions a few blocks inland drop to Exposure C or B.
ZIP centroid alone does not tell you the exposure — that is a site-specific call.
You have the 170 mph number. Turn it into a permit-ready Engineering Report with the Broward wind load calculator, or explore every county from the Florida wind speed hub.