Tornadoes · United States · Florida

1969 tornadoes in Florida

58 tornadoes touched down in Florida in 1969, 17 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody.

1968 1970 The whole country in 1969

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Florida in 1969

February 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 125:00 PM GMT-6F01.0117$5,000 to $50,000

February 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 1511:45 AM GMT-5F1Gadsden0.110$5,000 to $50,000

April 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 193:30 AM GMT-5F1Orange5.6500$50,000 to $500,000

May 3 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 36:44 PM GMT-4F0Pasco0.110

May 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 114:45 PM GMT-4F0Palm Beach0.110

May 15 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 153:30 PM GMT-4F1Palm Beach0.110$50 to $500
May 153:36 PM GMT-4F0Palm Beach0.110

May 18 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 185:40 AM GMT-5F1Okaloosa0.110$5,000 to $50,000

May 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 195:25 PM GMT-4F0Taylor0.110

May 24 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 246:00 PM GMT-5F1Santa Rosa0.110$50 to $500
May 246:30 PM GMT-5F0Walton0.110under $50

May 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 251:14 PM GMT-4F0Palm Beach0.110

June 4 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 45:10 PM GMT-4F1Hillsborough0.110$500 to $5,000

June 5 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 55:00 PM GMT-4F1Saint Johns0.110$500 to $5,000
June 57:00 PM GMT-4F0Suwannee0.110

June 6 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 62:15 PM GMT-4F2Polk0.110
June 68:26 PM GMT-4F0Hillsborough0.110

June 8 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 87:05 PM GMT-4F1Manatee0.110$500 to $5,000

June 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 103:15 PM GMT-5F00.110

June 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 136:45 PM GMT-4F2Sarasota0.110$500 to $5,000

June 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 214:44 AM GMT-5F0Okaloosa0.110

July 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 16:40 PM GMT-4F1Hillsborough0.110$50 to $500

July 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 26:46 PM GMT-4F2Hillsborough0.1102$500 to $5,000

July 6 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 68:00 PM GMT-4F0Lake0.110
July 68:10 PM GMT-4F0Lake0.110

July 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 146:00 PM GMT-4F1Polk0.110$5,000 to $50,000

July 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 228:18 PM GMT-4F1Volusia0.110$500 to $5,000

July 23 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 234:38 PM GMT-4F0Indian River0.110

August 10 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 101:37 PM GMT-5F00.110
August 103:40 PM GMT-4F1Broward0.110$5,000 to $50,000
August 104:28 PM GMT-4F1Broward0.110$500 to $5,000

August 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 133:35 PM GMT-4F1Highlands3.610$5,000 to $50,000

August 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 1410:10 PM GMT-4F1Orange3.810$5,000 to $50,000

August 17 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 1712:15 PM GMT-5F0Escambia0.110
August 174:28 PM GMT-5F1Santa Rosa0.110$50 to $500

August 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 277:30 PM GMT-4F1Lafayette0.110$500 to $5,000

September 20 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 2011:20 PM GMT-4F1Franklin0.110$500 to $5,000
September 2011:45 PM GMT-4F2Franklin0.1103$5,000 to $50,000

October 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 16:10 AM GMT-4F0Franklin0.110under $50

October 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 25:43 PM GMT-4F0Volusia0.110under $50

October 4 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 46:10 PM GMT-4F0DeSoto0.110

November 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 133:00 PM GMT-5F2Sumter3.41501$50,000 to $500,000
November 133:00 PM GMT-5F1Citrus0.110$500 to $5,000

November 14 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 141:20 PM GMT-5F2Okeechobee3.8102$5,000 to $50,000

December 10 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 106:40 AM GMT-5F2Pinellas1.01501$50,000 to $500,000
December 106:45 AM GMT-5F2Hillsborough0.110$5,000 to $50,000
December 101:09 PM GMT-5F1Collier0.110$500 to $5,000

December 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 219:05 AM GMT-6F2Santa Rosa0.110$500 to $5,000
December 214:45 PM GMT-5F1Franklin0.110$500 to $5,000

December 25 9 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 2512:05 PM GMT-6F1Escambia0.110$50 to $500
December 2512:15 PM GMT-6F0Escambia0.110
December 251:20 PM GMT-6F0Okaloosa0.110
December 254:15 PM GMT-5F1Liberty0.110$5,000 to $50,000
December 254:15 PM GMT-5F0Liberty0.110
December 254:15 PM GMT-5F0Liberty0.110
December 254:15 PM GMT-5F2Gadsden0.150$50,000 to $500,000
December 257:30 PM GMT-5F2Madison0.1101$500 to $5,000
December 258:25 PM GMT-5F1Alachua0.110$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in FloridaThe 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.