Tornadoes · United States · Florida

1979 tornadoes in Florida

89 tornadoes touched down in Florida in 1979, 80 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 69.

1978 1980 The whole country in 1979

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.

F040 to 72 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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 1979

January 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 1	2:05 PM CST	F1	Santa Rosa	0.1	20			$50 to $500

January 2 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 2	4:00 PM EST	F1	Palm Beach	0.1	20			$500 to $5,000

January 12 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 12	3:34 PM EST	F1	Okeechobee	0.1	20			$5,000 to $50,000
January 12	5:20 PM EST	F1	Brevard	0.3	20			$5,000 to $50,000

January 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 13	5:10 AM EST	F2	Palm Beach	1.0	50			$500,000 to $5 million

January 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 21	3:10 AM EST	F1	Brevard	0.1	20			$5,000 to $50,000

January 24 6 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
January 24	2:00 AM EST	F3	Manatee	7.0	20		$50,000 to $500,000
January 24	3:30 AM EST	F1	Volusia	0.5	20		$5,000 to $50,000
January 24	4:16 AM EST	F1	DeSoto	0.1	10	1	$50,000 to $500,000
January 24	4:53 AM EST	F1	Lee	2.0	20		$50,000 to $500,000
January 24	5:00 AM EST	F1	Highlands	0.1	10		$50,000 to $500,000
January 24	5:55 AM EST	F3	Martin	9.6	20		$50,000 to $500,000

March 3 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 3	8:50 AM CST	F1	Escambia	0.2	30			$5,000 to $50,000
March 3	9:55 AM CST	F1	Escambia	5.7	30			$5,000 to $50,000

March 23 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
March 23	1:28 PM EST	F1	Pasco	4.5	30		6	$50,000 to $500,000

April 4 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 4	8:40 AM CST	F1	Calhoun	1.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000
April 4	10:15 AM EST	F1	Gadsden	0.1	30			$50,000 to $500,000

May 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 5	5:20 PM EDT	F1	Volusia	6.2	30			$50,000 to $500,000

May 8 19 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 8	6:30 AM EDT	F0	Pasco	0.1	20		1	$5,000 to $50,000
May 8	7:10 AM EDT	F1	Hillsborough	0.3	30		1	$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	7:45 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$50 to $500
May 8	8:00 AM EDT	F0	Pinellas	0.1	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	9:15 AM EDT	F1	Volusia	6.9	50		6	$500,000 to $5 million
May 8	9:20 AM EDT	F1	Hillsborough	0.2	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	9:55 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	10:00 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	11:45 AM EDT	F0	Pinellas	0.2	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	11:45 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.2	20		1	$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	11:45 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	11:45 AM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	1:00 PM EDT	F0	Pasco	0.2	30			$5,000 to $50,000
May 8	1:15 PM EDT	F2	Polk	4.0	200	1	40	$5 million to $50 million
May 8	1:30 PM EDT	F0	Citrus	0.1	20			under $50
May 8	1:50 PM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			$5,000 to $50,000
May 8	3:30 PM EDT	F0	Saint Lucie	4.6	30			$50,000 to $500,000
May 8	4:15 PM EDT	F0	Martin	0.1	30			$500 to $5,000
May 8	5:30 PM EDT	F0	Hillsborough	0.1	20			under $50

May 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 11	4:15 PM EDT	F0	Duval	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000
May 11	6:50 PM EDT	F0	DeSoto	0.1	10

May 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 14	7:10 PM EDT	F1	Lake	0.2	30			$5,000 to $50,000

May 24 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
May 24	2:00 PM EDT	F1	Pinellas	0.1	10		$5,000 to $50,000
May 24	2:30 PM EDT	F1	Pasco	0.1	20		$50,000 to $500,000
May 24	3:51 PM EDT	F2	Broward	3.0	30	2	$50,000 to $500,000
May 24	4:00 PM EDT	F1	Martin	0.1	20		$5,000 to $50,000

June 20 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 20	2:35 PM EDT	F0	Suwannee	0.1	10			under $50

June 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 21	9:08 PM EDT	F1	Alachua	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

July 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 3	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Flagler	0.1	30			$500 to $5,000

July 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 4	7:00 PM EDT	F1	Suwannee	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

July 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 5	3:10 PM EDT	F1	Suwannee	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

July 9 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 9	9:05 PM EDT	F2	Brevard	0.5	50		6	$500,000 to $5 million

July 11 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
July 11	8:50 AM CDT	F1	Okaloosa	0.1	10	$5,000 to $50,000
July 11	4:20 PM EDT	F1	Marion	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
July 11	6:00 PM EDT	F1	Saint Johns	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000

July 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 24	1:30 PM CDT	F1	Walton	0.2	30			$5,000 to $50,000

August 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 5	4:54 PM EDT	F1	Marion	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

August 12 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 12	1:00 PM EDT	F0	Lafayette	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

August 23 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
August 23	3:15 PM EDT	F0	Citrus	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
August 23	4:00 PM EDT	F1	Lake	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
August 23	5:15 PM EDT	F0	Pasco	0.1	30
August 23	8:06 PM CDT	F0	Escambia	0.1	10

August 24 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 24	3:30 PM EDT	F0	Lee	0.1	30		1	$5,000 to $50,000
August 24	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Manatee	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

September 1 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 1	5:00 PM EDT	F1	Pinellas	0.1	30			$50,000 to $500,000

September 3 9 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 3	10:35 AM EDT	F0	Palm Beach	0.1	30	$500 to $5,000
September 3	1:20 PM EDT	F2	Brevard	2.0	40	$500,000 to $5 million
September 3	1:25 PM EDT	F1	Indian River	0.1	30	$50,000 to $500,000
September 3	3:25 PM EDT	F0	Brevard	0.2	30	$50,000 to $500,000
September 3	7:00 PM EDT	F0	Brevard	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
September 3	8:00 PM EDT	F0	Flagler	0.1	30	$500 to $5,000
September 3	8:35 PM EDT	F2	Volusia	0.1	30	$50,000 to $500,000
September 3	9:00 PM EDT	F2	Volusia	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
September 3	10:00 PM EDT	F1	Volusia	0.1	30	$50,000 to $500,000

September 4 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 4	3:50 AM EDT	F0	Nassau	0.1	10

September 12 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Injuries	Damage
September 12	8:15 PM CDT	F0	Escambia	0.1	30		$5,000 to $50,000
September 12	8:30 PM CDT	F0	Okaloosa	0.1	30		$500 to $5,000
September 12	8:40 PM CDT	F0	Okaloosa	0.1	30		$500 to $5,000
September 12	11:50 PM CDT	F1	Escambia	0.1	30	4	$50,000 to $500,000

September 13 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 13	4:30 AM CDT	F1	Jackson	1.0	40			$5,000 to $50,000

September 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 21	9:00 PM CDT	F0	Okaloosa	0.1	30			$500 to $5,000

September 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 24	6:00 PM EDT	F0	Polk	0.1	20			$500 to $5,000

September 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 25	5:40 PM EDT	F1	Pinellas	0.1	30			$5,000 to $50,000

September 29 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 29	3:30 PM EDT	F0	Manatee	0.1	30	$5,000 to $50,000
September 29	3:50 PM EDT	F0	Volusia	0.2	30
September 29	4:15 PM EDT	F0	Putnam	0.3	30
September 29	4:40 PM EDT	F0	Nassau	0.1	10

September 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 30	1:40 PM EDT	F0	Hendry	0.1	10

October 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 5	8:20 AM EDT	F0	Pinellas	0.2	30			$5,000 to $50,000

November 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 11	9:00 AM EST	F1	Jefferson	0.3	30			$5,000 to $50,000

November 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 25	10:54 AM CST	F1	Escambia	0.1	10			$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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