Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, November 5, 1988

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, November 5, 1988
Start: 1988-11-05T00:05
End: 1988-11-05T11:15
Location: Florida

November 5, 1988 · 11 events in 10 counties and zones

7 thunderstorm wind, 4 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: 3
Property damage: $325,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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

7 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Bay

When: November 5, 12:05 AM CST
Where: Bay County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 30.180, -85.800

Tornado, Madison

When: November 5, 12:15 AM CST
Where: Madison County
Rating: F2
Path length: 8 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.370, -83.350

Thunderstorm Wind, Okaloosa

When: November 5, 12:15 AM CST
Where: Okaloosa County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 30.370, -86.670

Tornado, Walton

When: November 5, 12:44 AM CST
Where: Walton County
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.370, -86.230

Thunderstorm Wind, Levy

When: November 5, 7:05 AM CST
Where: Levy County
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Coordinates: 29.130, -83.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Putnam

When: November 5, 7:30 AM CST
Where: Putnam County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 29.550, -81.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Citrus

When: November 5, 7:30 AM CST
Where: Citrus County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 28.830, -82.330

Tornado, Polk

When: November 5, 9:35 AM CST
Where: Polk County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 27.750, -81.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: November 5, 9:40 AM CST
Where: Volusia County
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Coordinates: 29.220, -81.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: November 5, 10:30 AM CST
Where: Polk County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 28.030, -81.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Osceola

When: November 5, 11:15 AM CST
Where: Osceola County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 28.000, -81.280

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.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Madison	1988-11-05				Direct

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

Every storm in Florida in 1988 Every state in 1988 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 1988 Warnings in Florida, November 1988

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: 9998901, 9998902, 9998903, 9998904, 9998905, 9998906, 9998907, 9998908, 9998909, 9998910, 9998911.