Tornado in Florida, February 17, 1998

Name: Tornado in Florida, February 17, 1998
Start: 1998-02-17T04:26
End: 1998-02-17T04:28
Location: Florida

February 17, 1998 · 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: $200,000
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.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Sarasota

When: February 17, 4:26 AM EST to 4:28 AM EST
Where: Sarasota County, Venice to 5 mi N of Venice
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.2 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Property damage: $200,000
Coordinates: 27.170, -82.450

A tornado touched down and blew over several large trees atop homes which caused significant roof damage along Bellini and Picasso Roads near Casey Key.A resident with an anemometer located 50 feet above ground level reported a wind gust of 109 mph at the 1800 block of Casey Key. Several power poles, wires, trees and chimneys were downed by the tornado 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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Florida, 1998 Warnings in Florida, February 1998

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: 5639965.