Waterspout in Florida, July 31, 1997

Name: Waterspout in Florida, July 31, 1997
Start: 1997-07-31T12:30
End: 1997-07-31T12:30
Location: Florida

July 31, 1997 · NWS TBW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 waterspout, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: $50,000
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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Lee

When: July 31, 12:30 PM EST
Where: Lee County, 1 mi NE of Ft Myers
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 26.625, -81.849 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A short-lived waterspout, five to ten feet wide at the base, travelled 100 yards along the Caloosahatchee River, east of the Edison Bridge (northbound U.S. Highway 41 Business). The waterspout damaged a 30 foot high aluminum shed, flipped a small boat and damaged a few piers and a couple of boats at the Mainsail Marina on Palm Beach Blvd before it dissipated.

What these are

Waterspout: A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

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 Warnings in Florida, July 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: 5614897.