Tornado in Florida, August 20, 1997

Name: Tornado in Florida, August 20, 1997
Start: 1997-08-20T17:18
End: 1997-08-20T17:18
Location: Florida

August 20, 1997 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $100,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 Melbourne radar (KMLB), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:19 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Highlands

When: August 20, 5:18 PM EST
Where: Highlands County, 10 mi ESE of Sebring
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.8 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $100,000
Coordinates: 27.450, -81.300

A short-lived tornado caused roof damage to seven pre-fabricated homes, downed a handful of trees and a few power lines along U.S. Highway 98 in Lorida. Two of the homes suffered major roof damage while five received minor roof damage. A parked boat and vehicle were also damaged by a 40 foot Formosa tree toppled by the tornado. The tornado tore a flagpole from the ground and ripped off several carports along Bishop Dairy Road before it lifted and dissipated.

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.

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, August 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: 5613992.