Florida, 1987

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, April 15, 1987

April 15, 1987 · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

4 thunderstorm wind, 2 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
1
Injuries
9
Property damage
$2.8 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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

Tornado, Lake

When
April 15, 9:15 AM EST
Where
Lake County
Rating
F2
Path length
3 mi
Path width
100 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$2.5 million
Coordinates
28.800, -81.630

Tornado, Sumter

When
April 15, 8:20 AM CST
Where
Sumter County
Rating
F2
Path length
12 mi
Path width
250 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
28.650, -82.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Hernando

When
April 15, 8:45 AM CST
Where
Hernando County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
28.550, -82.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Broward

When
April 15, 11:30 AM CST
Where
Broward County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
26.130, -80.500

Thunderstorm Wind, Miami-Dade

When
April 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Miami-Dade County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
25.930, -80.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Martin

When
April 15, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Martin County
Measured
75 kt (86 mph)
Coordinates
27.250, -80.230

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Lake1987-04-15Direct

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.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Florida in 1987Every state in 1987This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 1987Warnings in Florida, April 1987

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: 9999970, 9999968, 9999969, 9999971, 9999972, 9999973.