Tornadoes in Florida
3,761 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 49.5 a year, 4th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 175 people and injured 3,410. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Florida
- F3, Orange and Osceola counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- F3, Santa Rosa County, FloridaMarch 31, 1962
- EF3, Lake and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- F3, Seminole and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- F4, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Osceola counties, FloridaApril 4, 1966
- EF3, Lake County, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- EF3, Saint Lucie and Indian River counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F2, Calhoun County, FloridaSeptember 15, 2004
- F3, Madison County, FloridaApril 19, 1988
- F3, Lake and Orange counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- F2, Levy County, FloridaMarch 12, 1993
- F3, Pinellas County, FloridaOctober 3, 1992
The strongest
- F4, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Osceola counties, FloridaApril 4, 1966
- F4, Polk County, FloridaApril 15, 1958
- EF3, Palm Beach and Martin counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F3, Orange and Osceola counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- EF3, Lake and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- EF3, Saint Lucie and Indian River counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F3, Palm Beach and Martin counties, FloridaOctober 19, 1958
- F3, Lake and Orange counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- EF3, Escambia and Escambia counties, Florida and AlabamaFebruary 15, 2016
- F3, Seminole and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- EF3, Glades County, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F3, Saint Lucie County, FloridaApril 15, 1958
The longest paths
- F2, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Seminole, Decatur, Mitchell and Worth counties, Florida and GeorgiaJanuary 12, 1975
- F4, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Osceola counties, FloridaApril 4, 1966
- F2, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk and Osceola counties, FloridaApril 4, 1966
- F2, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, FloridaMay 26, 1973
- F1, Hillsborough, Polk, Lake and Orange counties, FloridaNovember 9, 1968
- EF2, Palm Beach, Martin and Saint Lucie counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F2, Collier and Hendry counties, FloridaNovember 11, 1968
- F2, Walton, Washington and Calhoun counties, FloridaApril 30, 1963
- F1, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Polk counties, FloridaNovember 11, 1968
- F1, Citrus, Sumter and Lake counties, FloridaFebruary 6, 1975
- F1, Washington and Jackson counties, FloridaJanuary 12, 1975
- F2, Collier and Broward counties, FloridaMarch 17, 1983
The costliest
- EF3, Saint Lucie and Indian River counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F2, Broward County, FloridaFebruary 2, 1998
- EF3, Lake and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- EF2, Leon County, FloridaMay 10, 2024
- EF2, Gadsden and Leon counties, FloridaMay 10, 2024
- EF3, Palm Beach and Martin counties, FloridaOctober 9, 2024
- F1, Palm Beach County, FloridaAugust 7, 2003
- EF3, Sumter County, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- F3, Orange and Osceola counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
- EF3, Lake County, FloridaFebruary 2, 2007
- F2, Volusia County, FloridaDecember 25, 2006
- F3, Seminole and Volusia counties, FloridaFebruary 22, 1998
The biggest days in Florida
Every year
Every year of the published record, and above it the 12 tornado tracks surveyed in Florida so far in 2026. This year's figures are preliminary and are not in the totals above, which are SPC's published database.
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 preliminary | 12 | |||
| 2025 | 27 | 11 | ||
| 2024 | 113 | 9 | 34 | |
| 2023 | 54 | 3 | ||
| 2022 | 69 | 2 | 9 | |
| 2021 | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2020 | 58 | 5 | ||
| 2019 | 25 | |||
| 2018 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2017 | 57 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 45 | 2 | 18 | |
| 2015 | 30 | 4 | ||
| 2014 | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2013 | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2012 | 48 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 39 | |||
| 2010 | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2009 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2008 | 56 | 1 | 13 | |
| 2007 | 50 | 21 | 81 | |
| 2006 | 42 | 30 | ||
| 2005 | 56 | 4 | ||
| 2004 | 104 | 6 | 17 | |
| 2003 | 44 | 1 | 45 | |
| 2002 | 43 | 2 | ||
| 2001 | 70 | 2 | 29 | |
| 2000 | 77 | 1 | ||
| 1999 | 60 | 12 | ||
| 1998 | 109 | 42 | 309 | |
| 1997 | 115 | 79 | ||
| 1996 | 66 | 3 | 37 | |
| 1995 | 95 | 3 | 37 | |
| 1994 | 77 | 1 | 45 | |
| 1993 | 85 | 5 | 98 | |
| 1992 | 60 | 4 | 99 | |
| 1991 | 56 | 14 | ||
| 1990 | 56 | 10 | ||
| 1989 | 71 | 3 | 8 | |
| 1988 | 46 | 5 | 26 | |
| 1987 | 45 | 1 | 18 | |
| 1986 | 53 | 34 | ||
| 1985 | 35 | 2 | 56 | |
| 1984 | 30 | 4 | ||
| 1983 | 85 | 4 | 51 | |
| 1982 | 69 | 2 | 39 | |
| 1981 | 61 | 33 | ||
| 1980 | 60 | 1 | 59 | |
| 1979 | 89 | 1 | 69 | |
| 1978 | 91 | 3 | 155 | |
| 1977 | 35 | 1 | 18 | |
| 1976 | 67 | 1 | 32 | |
| 1975 | 97 | 2 | 94 | |
| 1974 | 54 | 1 | 71 | |
| 1973 | 45 | 1 | 94 | |
| 1972 | 77 | 1 | 115 | |
| 1971 | 59 | 125 | ||
| 1970 | 48 | 14 | ||
| 1969 | 58 | 10 | ||
| 1968 | 57 | 4 | 56 | |
| 1967 | 23 | 2 | 148 | |
| 1966 | 28 | 11 | 535 | 1 |
| 1965 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 1964 | 37 | 65 | ||
| 1963 | 28 | 4 | ||
| 1962 | 18 | 18 | 136 | |
| 1961 | 24 | 10 | ||
| 1960 | 31 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1959 | 18 | 1 | 105 | |
| 1958 | 26 | 1 | 69 | 1 |
| 1957 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1956 | 10 | 21 | ||
| 1955 | 12 | |||
| 1954 | 13 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1953 | 21 | 36 | ||
| 1952 | 10 | 9 | ||
| 1951 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 1950 | 6 |
Every county in Florida
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 3,761. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in FloridaForecast for your townThe live radar over Florida
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.