Florida, 1998

Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, March 9, 1998

March 9, 1998 · NWS MLB · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

3 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind, 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
10
Property damage
$8.7 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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

3 tornado, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Osceola

When
March 9, 1:50 AM EST
Where
Osceola County, Kissimmee
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$70,000
Coordinates
28.300, -81.400

A category F2 tornado touched down briefly in the western part of Kissimmee producing minor damage to about 40 mobile homes. Most of the damage was to carports and awnings.

Thunderstorm Wind, Brevard

When
March 9, 2:20 AM EST
Where
Brevard County, Cocoa Beach
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
28.320, -80.600

Thunderstorm winds blew down trees and damaged the roof of a high school building in Cocoa Beach.

Thunderstorm Wind, Brevard

When
March 9, 2:29 AM EST
Where
Brevard County, Patrick Afb
Measured
64 kt (74 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
28.230, -80.600

Thunderstorm winds blew down traffic signals and produced a gust to 74 mph at Patrick AFB.

Tornado, Okeechobee

When
March 9, 3:20 AM EST
Where
Okeechobee County, Okeechobee to 2 mi E of Okeechobee
Rating
F1
Path length
4 mi
Path width
100 yd
Injuries
10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$5.4 million
Coordinates
27.230, -80.850

An F1 tornado touched down along the north shore of Lake Okeechobee near Highway 441. The tornado moved northeast though Okeechobee damaging six businesses and nine homes. Thirteen mobile homes and recreational vehicles were destroyed. About 100 others were damaged. Ten people were injured. Two required hospitalization.

Tornado, St. Lucie

When
March 9, 3:48 AM EST
Where
St. Lucie County, 1 mi N of Ft Pierce
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Property damage
$3.2 million
Coordinates
27.470, -80.330

An F1 tornado touched down at the St. Lucie County Fair grounds destroying 20 amusement park rides, bleachers, and out buildings. The tornado then moved northeast toward the St. Lucie County Airport where it overturned 8 planes and destroyed a hanger. No one was injured.

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

More

Every storm in Florida in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Florida, 1998Warnings in Florida, March 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: 5640125, 5640230, 5640231, 5640232, 5640233.