Tornadoes · United States · Florida

1987 tornadoes in Florida

45 tornadoes touched down in Florida in 1987, 9 percent below the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 18.

1986 1988 The whole country in 1987

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 1987

January 4 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 410:10 AM ESTF0Lee2.530$50,000 to $500,000
January 411:49 AM ESTF0Palm Beach1.0301$500 to $5,000
January 41:45 PM ESTF0Broward1.030$50,000 to $500,000

January 22 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 225:35 AM ESTF0Pasco1.030$5,000 to $50,000
January 226:10 AM ESTF0Pasco1.030$5,000 to $50,000

March 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 78:00 AM ESTF0Saint Lucie1.030$500 to $5,000
March 73:00 PM ESTF0Flagler1.030$500 to $5,000

March 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 2910:30 AM ESTF0Pasco0.520

April 3 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 38:30 AM ESTF0Franklin1.030$500 to $5,000
April 310:15 AM ESTF0Madison1.030$500 to $5,000

April 15 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 1510:15 AM EDTF2Lake3.010017$500,000 to $5 million
April 1510:20 AM EDTF2Sumter12.0250$50,000 to $500,000

May 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 13:07 PM CDTF0Santa Rosa1.030

May 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 56:35 PM EDTF0DeSoto1.030$500 to $5,000

May 7 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 77:00 PM EDTF0Pasco1.030$500 to $5,000

May 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 126:40 PM EDTF0Charlotte1.030

May 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 135:30 PM EDTF1Lee1.030$50,000 to $500,000

June 18 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 189:00 PM EDTF0Pinellas1.030$5,000 to $50,000

June 21 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 216:37 PM EDTF0Duval1.030$500 to $5,000

June 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 228:10 PM EDTF0Polk0.230

June 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 254:44 PM EDTF0Saint Lucie1.030$500 to $5,000
June 257:30 PM EDTF0Broward0.330

June 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 273:25 PM CDTF00.230

June 28 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 282:00 PM EDTF0Broward0.430under $50
June 282:00 PM EDTF0Broward0.230

June 29 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 296:40 PM EDTF0Polk2.0301$500 to $5,000

July 6 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 64:26 PM EDTF0Pinellas1.030$50,000 to $500,000
July 66:25 PM EDTF0Hernando1.030$5,000 to $50,000

July 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 94:29 PM EDTF0Alachua0.210

July 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 124:10 PM EDTF0Indian River1.030$5,000 to $50,000

July 23 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 235:08 PM EDTF0Bradford1.030$50 to $500
July 235:25 PM EDTF0Columbia1.030$50 to $500

July 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 244:00 PM EDTF0Manatee1.030$50 to $500

August 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 25:00 PM CDTF1Santa Rosa0.530$500 to $5,000

August 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 116:30 PM EDTF0Putnam0.530

August 19 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 193:00 PM EDTF0Polk0.530$50 to $500

August 20 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 2012:48 PM EDTF0Brevard1.030$50 to $500

August 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 215:25 PM EDTF1Charlotte1.030$5,000 to $50,000
August 215:25 PM EDTF1Sarasota2.0306$50,000 to $500,000

September 1 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 13:40 PM EDTF1Osceola1.0303$50,000 to $500,000

September 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 53:30 PM EDTF0Columbia1.030

October 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
October 119:15 PM EDTF1Monroe0.210$50,000 to $500,000

November 17 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 174:02 AM CSTF1Washington1.030$5,000 to $50,000

December 15 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 151:00 PM ESTF0Putnam1.030$500 to $5,000
December 151:50 PM ESTF0Flagler1.030$5,000 to $50,000

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.