Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, July 8, 1981

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, July 8, 1981
Start: 1981-07-08T13:00
End: 1981-07-08T15:21
Location: Florida

July 8, 1981 · NWS RY · 8 events in 6 counties and zones

4 hail, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 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: $275,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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

4 hail, 2 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Citrus

When: July 8, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Citrus County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 28.750, -82.450

Tornado, Lake

When: July 8, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Lake County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.770

Hail, Sumter

When: July 8, 2:15 PM CST
Where: Sumter County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 28.670, -82.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Seminole

When: July 8, 2:33 PM CST
Where: Seminole County
Coordinates: 28.680, -81.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Hillsborough

When: July 8, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Coordinates: 28.020, -82.120

Hail, Hillsborough

When: July 8, 3:10 PM CST
Where: Hillsborough County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 27.930, -82.280

Tornado, Suwannee

When: July 8, 3:21 PM CST
Where: Suwannee County
Rating: F1
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.030, -82.930

Hail, Suwannee

When: July 8, 3:21 PM CST
Where: Suwannee County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 30.030, -82.930

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 1981 Every state in 1981 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 1981

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: 10000839, 10000840, 10000841, 10000842, 10001680, 10001681, 10001682, 10001895.