Florida tornadoes
Every recorded tornado since 1950 · 67 counties with a record
Florida has recorded 3,762 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 50 a year since 2000, with 48 rated F3/EF3 or stronger (NOAA Storm Prediction Center). The deadliest was the February 22, 1998 Orlando tornado (25 deaths in Florida). Florida ranks 4th of 52 states and territories by count and 1st of 51 per square mile.
Tornadoes in Florida, 1950 to 2025
Tornadoes per year (SPC; a tornado that crossed a state line counts in each state it touched).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1996: tornado reports rose with NEXRAD Doppler radar, mid-1990s (SPC)
- Tornadoes
- 3,7621950 to 2025
- A year since 2000
- 50average
- Deaths
- 1743,385 injuries
- F3/EF3 or stronger
- 481% of tornadoes
- Busiest year
- 1997115 tornadoes
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025 (state segments). SPC severe weather database.
Are tornadoes common in Florida?
Florida averages about 50 tornadoes a year since 2000, 4th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 1997 (115). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Florida records 701 tornadoes since 1950, 1st of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA SPC, tornadoes 1950-2025, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Florida have the most tornadoes?
Per square mile, Pinellas County leads Florida: 130 days with a tornado record since 1950, 474.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Palm Beach County has the most tornado records (198 since 1950); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1950 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is tornado season in Florida?
Florida's tornadoes by month. The busiest month is June (546 tornadoes).
The values, month by month
Jan 225 · Feb 232 · Mar 343 · Apr 322 · May 362 · Jun 546 · Jul 382 · Aug 369 · Sep 381 · Oct 294 · Nov 143 · Dec 163 (records).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments by the month they began, 1950-2025.
What were the deadliest tornadoes in Florida?
| Date | Counties | Rating | Path in state | Killed | Injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-02-22 | Orlando · Osceola, Orange | F3 | 28 mi | 25 | 150 |
| 1962-03-31 | Milton · Santa Rosa | F3 | 6.9 mi | 17 | 100 |
| 2007-02-02 | DeLand · Lake, Volusia | EF3 | 26.03 mi | 13 | 51 |
| 1998-02-22 | Sanford · Seminole, Volusia | F3 | 16 mi | 13 | 36 |
| 1966-04-04 | Tampa to Lakeland · Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Osceola | F4 | 135.8 mi | 11 | 530 |
| 2007-02-02 | Lady Lake · Lake | EF3 | 10.5 mi | 8 | 10 |
| 2024-10-09 | Port St. Lucie · St. Lucie, Indian River | EF3 | 21.24 mi | 6 | 0 |
| 1988-04-19 | Madison · Madison | F3 | 12 mi | 4 | 18 |
| 2004-09-15 | Altha · Calhoun | F2 | 7 mi | 4 | 5 |
| 1978-05-04 | Pinellas Park · Pinellas | F3 | 1.5 mi | 3 | 94 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (state segments: deaths and path inside Florida), 1950-2025; counties are the first four the SPC lists for the segment. SPC severe weather database.
Where have the strongest tornadoes tracked in Florida?
- F2/EF2
- F3/EF3
- F4/EF4
- F5/EF5
- no end point filed
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, start and end points of each track; county lines: Census Bureau cartographic boundaries (2017), via us-atlas. SPC severe weather database. Census cartographic boundary files.
The strongest tornadoes in Florida
| Date | Counties | Rating | Path in state | Width | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-04-04 | Tampa to Lakeland · Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Osceola | F4 | 135.8 mi | 300 yd | 11 |
| 1958-04-15 | Polk | F4 | 0.1 mi | 300 yd | 0 |
| 1998-02-22 | Orlando · Osceola, Orange | F3 | 28 mi | 250 yd | 25 |
| 1962-03-31 | Milton · Santa Rosa | F3 | 6.9 mi | 440 yd | 17 |
| 2007-02-02 | DeLand · Lake, Volusia | EF3 | 26.03 mi | 450 yd | 13 |
| 1998-02-22 | Sanford · Seminole, Volusia | F3 | 16 mi | 200 yd | 13 |
| 2007-02-02 | Lady Lake · Lake | EF3 | 10.5 mi | 450 yd | 8 |
| 2024-10-09 | Port St. Lucie · St. Lucie, Indian River | EF3 | 21.24 mi | 500 yd | 6 |
| 1988-04-19 | Madison · Madison | F3 | 12 mi | 300 yd | 4 |
| 1998-02-22 | Clermont to Winter Garden · Lake, Orange | F3 | 18 mi | 200 yd | 3 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database; F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after.
The longest tornado paths in Florida
| Date | Tornado and counties | Rating | Path in state | Width | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-04-04 | Tampa to Lakeland · Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Osceola | F4 | 135.8 mi | 300 yd | 11 |
| 1966-04-04 | St. Petersburg to Winter Haven · Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Osceola | F2 | 123.3 mi | 150 yd | 0 |
| 1973-05-26 | Crestview · Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton | F2 | 105.4 mi | 20 yd | 1 |
| 1968-11-09 | Hillsborough, Polk, Lake, Orange | F1 | 69.3 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 2024-10-09 | Port St. Lucie · Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie | EF2 | 65.49 mi | 300 yd | 0 |
| 1968-11-11 | Naples · Collier, Hendry | F2 | 65.4 mi | 17 yd | 0 |
| 1975-01-12 | Bainbridge · Bay, Calhoun, Jackson | F2 | 63.2 mi | 100 yd | 1 |
| 1963-04-30 | Ponce de Leon · Walton, Washington, Calhoun | F2 | 61 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 1968-11-11 | Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk | F1 | 57.2 mi | 10 yd | 0 |
| 1975-02-06 | Citrus, Lake, Sumter | F1 | 54.9 mi | 50 yd | 0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments: path length and width inside the state. SPC severe weather database.
Tornadoes in every Florida county
All 67 counties: tornadoes whose track touched each, and the strongest
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database: whole tornadoes whose track touched the county (any state segment listing it). SPC severe weather database.
Is Florida in Tornado Alley?
Tornado Alley has no official boundary; the Storm Prediction Center calls it a media nickname for the central U.S. area of relatively high tornado occurrence. By the record, Florida ranks 9th of 50 states for tornadoes rated 1 or higher per square mile since 1950 (277 per 10,000 square miles).
Tornado Alley, measured: the states by density and maps of where tornadoes began in two eras.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database and Online Tornado FAQ. SPC's tornado FAQ.
The costliest tornadoes in Florida
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-09 | TornadoFt Pierce Nelson Arp, St. Lucie County A National Weather Service survey team confirmed an unusually strong, long-tracked tornado in association with Hurricane Milton produced widespread EF-1 to EF-2 damage, and periodic EF-3 damage within St. Lucie and Indian River counties. The survey determined that the tornado touched down to the south of Midway Rd. in ... | EF3 12.97 mi x 500 yd | 6 | 0 | $447M |
| 1998-02-02 | TornadoMiami International, Miami-Dade County At 2022 est f1-f2 tornado touched down nw 36th st/curtis parkway damaging about 12 planes at mia international airport. The mia asos recorded a gust of 90 knots. The f2 tornado crossed through virginia gardens and south miami springs in a 100-200 yard path damaging many buildings and hurling a 2 by 4 board through an ... | F2 14 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 6 | $317M |
| 2003-08-07 | TornadoPalm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach County A SKYWARN spotter sighted a funnel cloud that touched down near North Lake Boulevard and North Military Trail. The tornado moved south through the Garden Walk Mobile Home Park then turned southeast and crossed I-95, overturning a semi-tractor trailer. The tornado proceeded east through Riviera Beach damaging the roofs ... | F1 4 mi x 300 yd | 0 | 28 | $128M |
| 1993-03-13 | TornadoSw To Ne Ocala, Marion County A tornado formed 8 miles southwest of Ocala in a wooded area. It snapped off trees before heavily damaging two hangers and destroying another at the Ocala Airport. It continued northeast snapping off numerous trees, then moved over an industrial area where it heavily damaged several storage buildings and a warehouse. ... | F2 15 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $102M |
| 1993-03-12 | TornadoChiefland, Levy County A tornado struck a home in which four people were asleep, pinning two of them under a fallen wall and suffocating them. Two others were injured. A nearby mobile home was destroyed killing its elderly occupant. The tornado went on to destroy or damage other mobile homes injuring five more people, and knocking down ... | F2 1 mi x 80 yd | 3 | 10 | $102M |
| 1994-11-15 | TornadoVrb, Brevard County A waterspout-F2 tornado, on the outer fringes of tropical storm Gordon, struck the Barefoot Bay area of southern Brevard County around 6:53 PM. A 74-year-old male was killed by trauma to the head, and about 40 people were injured. Six people were hospitalized, two in serious condition. The waterspout made landfall ... | F2 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 1 | 40 | $100M |
| 1998-02-23 | TornadoIntercession City, Osceola County The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was a category F3 that touched down initially one mile south of Intercession City. The tornado moved northeast at 45 mph and ripped through the town of Kissimmee killing 25 people. The hardest hit areas were the Morningside Acres mobile home community and the Ponderosa ... | F3 14 mi x 250 yd | 25 | 145 | $91M |
| 2007-02-02 | TornadoRoyal, Sumter County The tornado first touched down near the southeast corner of The Villages south of Lake Miona and moved rapidly to the east northeast at 55 MPH into Lake County. A FEMA report to Sumter County emergency management officials detailed damage to 1,145 homes with 200 destroyed during the 6 minutes the tornado was on the ... | EF3 5.67 mi x 335 yd | 0 | 15 | $88M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25M, in the dollars of the day) holds: April 4, 1966 (tornado, Polk County, 8 killed); April 19, 1988 (tornado, Madison County, 4 killed); April 4, 1966 (tornado, Pinellas County, 3 killed); October 3, 1992 (tornado, Pinellas County, 3 killed); March 17, 1985 (tornado, Sarasota County, 2 killed).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are tornadoes becoming more frequent in Florida?
Florida's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. The Storm Prediction Center notes that tornado reports rose especially around the installation of the NEXRAD Doppler radar network in the mid-1990s, so a rising count is partly better detection; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Florida | United States | Florida's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 142 | 4,837 | 2.9% |
| 1960s | 316 | 6,863 | 4.6% |
| 1970s | 662 | 8,633 | 7.7% |
| 1980s | 555 | 8,250 | 6.7% |
| 1990s | 779 | 12,205 | 6.4% |
| 2000s | 580 | 12,892 | 4.5% |
| 2010s | 374 | 12,232 | 3.1% |
| 2020-25 | 354 | 8,234 | 4.3% |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, state segments.
The most recent tornadoes in Florida
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-28 | TornadoNorth Fort Myers, Lee County | EF0 0.12 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $100K |
| 2026-06-26 | TornadoMiramar, Broward County | EFU 0.36 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-18 | TornadoMillers Ferry, Washington County | EF0 1.84 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-26 | TornadoParrish, Manatee County | EF0 0.24 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | $1K |
| 2026-05-25 | TornadoVilla Tasso, Walton County | EF1 0.32 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $75K |
| 2026-05-24 | TornadoTown N Country, Hillsborough County | EF0 0.34 mi x 75 yd | 0 | 0 | $5K |
| 2026-05-17 | TornadoCape Coral, Lee County | EF0 0.53 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $200K |
| 2026-05-17 | TornadoWhiskey Creek, Lee County | EF0 2.07 mi x 150 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K |
| 2026-05-17 | TornadoFort Myers Villas, Lee County | EF0 0.11 mi x 25 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-12 | TornadoAripeka, Pasco County | EF0 0.67 mi x 250 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-12 | TornadoHudson, Pasco County | EF0 1.18 mi x 400 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K |
| 2026-04-07 | TornadoPalm Spgs North, Miami-Dade County | EF0 0.57 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $50K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for tornadoes in Florida
FEMA has declared 15 disasters in Florida for tornadoes, counting its incident type and declarations that name tornado in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 15 were major disasters, the latest on June 17, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-17 | DR-4794 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes | 13 |
| 2023-04-27 | DR-4709 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2014-05-06 | DR-4177 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 9 |
| 2009-05-27 | DR-1840 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds | 5 |
| 2009-04-21 | DR-1831 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds | 23 |
| 2007-02-08 | DR-1680 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2007-02-03 | DR-1679 | Severe Storms and Tornadoes | 4 |
| 2003-04-25 | DR-1460 | Severe Storms and Tornadoes | 1 |
| 2001-09-28 | DR-1393 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes and Flooding Associated With Tropical Storm Gabrielle | 11 |
| 1998-02-12 | DR-1204 | Severe Storms, High Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 3 |
| 1998-01-06 | DR-1195 | Severe Storms, High Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 55 |
| 1994-11-28 | DR-1043 | Tropical Storm Gordon Tornadoes Flooding Rainfall | 2 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Pinellas County: the county's whole recordThe Florida county with the most tornadoes per square mile
- Tornadoes across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in FloridaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Florida15,159 records
- Hail in Florida5,668 records
- Floods in Florida3,375 records