Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, April 23, 1997

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Florida, April 23, 1997
Start: 1997-04-23T09:10
End: 1997-04-23T10:30
Location: Florida

April 23, 1997 · NWS MLB · 14 events in 4 counties and zones

8 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado, 2 hail, 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: $620,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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.

The radar

The Tampa radar (KTBW), 136 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:11 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: April 23, 9:10 AM EST
Where: Lake County, Fruitland Park
Property damage: $30,000
Coordinates: 28.850, -81.900

Severe thunderstorm winds blew down trees and severly damaged the roof of a house.

Tornado, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:15 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, Pierson
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $60,000
Coordinates: 29.230, -81.470

A small tornado touched down briefly in the vicinity of Pierson. Numerous trees were blown down with at least one falling on a house. The roof of a saw mill was destroyed.

Tornado, Lake

When: April 23, 9:20 AM EST
Where: Lake County, Tavares
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.3 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $150,000
Coordinates: 28.800, -81.720

A small tornado touched down briefly in the town of Tavares blowing down trees and power lines and damaging 25 homes and mobile homes.

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:30 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, Deltona
Coordinates: 28.900, -81.230

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees near Interstate Highway 4 in Deltona.

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:38 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, De Land
Coordinates: 29.030, -81.300

Thunderstorm wind blew down numerous large tree branches in De Land.

Thunderstorm Wind, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:40 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, Daytona Beach
Coordinates: 29.220, -81.030

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines near Interstate Highway 4 in Daytona Beach.

Tornado, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:44 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, Port Orange
Rating: F0
Path length: 1.2 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $120,000
Coordinates: 29.130, -80.980

A small tornado touched down in the fly-in community of Spruce Creek overturning one single engine aircraft, destroying a pool enclosure and blowing down about a dozen trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: April 23, 9:45 AM EST
Where: Lake County, Mt Dora
Property damage: $10,000
Coordinates: 28.800, -81.630

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and power lines and overturned a tractor trailer truck in Mt. Dora.

Thunderstorm Wind, Seminole

When: April 23, 9:45 AM EST
Where: Seminole County, Altamonte Spgs
Coordinates: 28.670, -81.350

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees in Altamonte Springs and Forest City.

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When: April 23, 9:50 AM EST
Where: Orange County, Orlando
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 28.550, -81.370

Thunderstorm winds produced wind gusts to 58 mph at Orlando International Airport.

Hail, Seminole

When: April 23, 9:50 AM EST
Where: Seminole County, Forest City
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 28.670, -81.420

Nickel size hail fell at Forest City.

Tornado, Volusia

When: April 23, 9:50 AM EST to 9:57 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, New Smyrna Beach
Rating: F0
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 29.020, -80.930

A small tornado moving rapidly to the east touched down briefly in the northern part of New Smyrna Beach just west of US Highway 1, blowing down dozens of trees and damaging 20 homes. The tornado continued east crossing the Intracoastal Waterway and then passed over the barrier island just south of the Ponce Inlet Coast Guard Station. Again the tornado blew down small trees and produced minor damage to 18 homes.

Hail, Volusia

When: April 23, 10:05 AM EST
Where: Volusia County, Ormond Beach
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Coordinates: 29.280, -81.050

Nickel size hail fell in Ormond Beach.

Thunderstorm Wind, Orange

When: April 23, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Orange County, Winter Park
Coordinates: 28.600, -81.330

Strong thunderstorm winds blew down trees, some of which damaged homes in the area.

What these are

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

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Florida in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 1997 Warnings in Florida, April 1997

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: 5601289, 5601290, 5601291, 5601292, 5601293, 5601300, 5601301, 5601294, 5601295, 5601296, 5601297, 5601421, 5601298, 5601299.