Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, January 19, 1978

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, January 19, 1978
Start: 1978-01-19T08:32
End: 1978-01-19T20:30
Location: Florida

January 19, 1978 · NWS ATA · 23 events in 13 counties and zones

17 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $555,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 23

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

17 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Clay

When: January 19, 8:32 AM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.070, -81.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: January 19, 8:35 AM CST
Where: Clay County
Coordinates: 30.070, -81.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Putnam

When: January 19, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Putnam County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 29.480, -81.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Putnam

When: January 19, 10:50 AM CST
Where: Putnam County
Coordinates: 29.650, -81.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Pinellas

When: January 19, 12:35 PM CST
Where: Pinellas County
Coordinates: 28.150, -82.670

Tornado, Hillsborough

When: January 19, 12:50 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 28.050, -82.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: January 19, 12:53 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Coordinates: 28.150, -82.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: January 19, 1:25 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Coordinates: 28.030, -82.300

Tornado, Seminole

When: January 19, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Seminole County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 20 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 28.580, -81.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: January 19, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Coordinates: 28.070, -82.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: January 19, 1:30 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Coordinates: 27.900, -82.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: January 19, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Volusia County
Coordinates: 29.020, -80.930

Tornado, Martin

When: January 19, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Martin County
Rating: F0
Path length: 3.6 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 27.070, -80.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: January 19, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Volusia County
Coordinates: 29.020, -80.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Palm Beach

When: January 19, 3:26 PM CST
Where: Palm Beach County
Coordinates: 26.620, -80.050

Tornado, Sarasota

When: January 19, 3:45 PM CST
Where: Sarasota County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 27.120, -82.450

Thunderstorm Wind, Seminole

When: January 19, 3:51 PM CST
Where: Seminole County
Coordinates: 28.680, -81.330

Tornado, Charlotte

When: January 19, 4:03 PM CST
Where: Charlotte County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 26.950, -82.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Indian River

When: January 19, 6:17 PM CST
Where: Indian River County
Coordinates: 27.900, -80.420

Thunderstorm Wind, Okeechobee

When: January 19, 6:20 PM CST
Where: Okeechobee County
Coordinates: 27.250, -80.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Miami-Dade

When: January 19, 7:08 PM CST
Where: Miami-Dade County
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Coordinates: 25.480, -80.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Palm Beach

When: January 19, 8:20 PM CST
Where: Palm Beach County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 26.780, -80.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Palm Beach

When: January 19, 8:30 PM CST
Where: Palm Beach County
Coordinates: 26.680, -80.120

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

Every storm in Florida in 1978 Every state in 1978 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 1978

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9999592, 9999593, 9999594, 9999595, 9999596, 9999597, 9999598, 9999599, 9999600, 9999601, 9999602, 9999603, 9999604, 9999605, 9999606, 9999607, 9999608, 9999609, 9999610, 9999611, 9999612, 9999613, 9999614.