Tornadoes · United States · Florida

1988 tornadoes in Florida

46 tornadoes touched down in Florida in 1988, about the average of the record for the state. They killed 5 people and injured 26.

1987 1989 The whole country in 1988

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 1988

January 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
January 21	11:15 AM EST	F1	Volusia	10.0	60		3	$50,000 to $500,000

April 18 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 18	9:00 PM CDT	F2	Jackson	15.0	300			$500,000 to $5 million
April 18	9:00 PM CDT	F1	Jackson	2.0	30			$500 to $5,000

April 19 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 19	3:30 AM EDT	F3	Madison	12.0	300	4	18	$5 million to $50 million
April 19	3:45 AM EDT	F2	Hamilton	2.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000
April 19	11:32 AM EDT	F1	Lake	2.0	50			$50,000 to $500,000

April 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
April 25	12:05 PM EDT	F0	Monroe	1.0	30			$50 to $500

April 30 3 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
April 30	12:50 PM EDT	F1	Okeechobee	2.0	30	$5,000 to $50,000
April 30	1:45 PM EDT	F1	Sarasota	1.0	50	$50,000 to $500,000
April 30	3:58 PM EDT	F1	Palm Beach	1.0	30	$5,000 to $50,000

May 11 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 11	3:20 PM EDT	F0	Volusia	1.0	30

May 16 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 16	4:16 PM EDT	F0	Monroe	1.0	30			$50 to $500

May 24 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 24	6:44 PM EDT	F0	Nassau	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000

May 27 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
May 27	2:30 PM EDT	F0	Broward	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000
May 27	2:45 PM EDT	F1	Broward	3.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000

June 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 5	7:30 PM EDT	F0	Pasco	0.5	30		2	$500 to $5,000

June 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 10	4:25 PM EDT	F0	Bradford	1.0	30

June 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 21	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Broward	0.2	10

June 22 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 22	6:00 PM EDT	F1	Polk	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000

June 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
June 25	4:00 PM EDT	F2	Citrus	2.0	40			$5,000 to $50,000

July 10 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 10	5:30 PM EDT	F0	Saint Johns	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000

July 15 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 15	12:30 PM EDT	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000

July 25 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 25	1:00 PM EDT	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000

July 26 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 26	5:00 PM CDT	F0	Escambia	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000
July 26	7:00 PM EDT	F0	Okeechobee	1.0	30

July 27 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
July 27	4:00 PM EDT	F0	Charlotte	0.5	20			$50 to $500

August 14 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 14	4:50 PM EDT	F0	Pinellas	0.5	30			$5,000 to $50,000

August 30 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
August 30	8:02 PM EDT	F1	Hillsborough	1.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000

September 5 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 5	7:25 PM EDT	F1	Charlotte	1.0	20			$5,000 to $50,000

September 8 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 8	9:50 PM EDT	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000

September 10 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Damage
September 10	8:00 AM CDT	F0	Bay	1.0	30	$500 to $5,000
September 10	12:15 PM CDT	F0	Walton	1.0	30	$500 to $5,000
September 10	1:38 PM CDT	F0	Walton	1.0	30	$500 to $5,000
September 10	2:30 PM CDT	F0	Walton	1.0	30	$500 to $5,000

September 21 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
September 21	5:30 PM EDT	F0	Charlotte	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000

October 3 1 tornado

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
October 3	5:30 AM CDT	F0	Bay	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000

November 4 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 4	1:15 AM EST	F2	Lee	1.5	400			$500,000 to $5 million
November 4	2:30 AM EST	F1	Clay	1.0	40			$5,000 to $50,000

November 5 4 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 5	12:05 AM CST	F1	Bay	1.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000
November 5	1:15 AM EST	F2	Madison	8.0	50	1	3	$5,000 to $50,000
November 5	12:44 AM CST	F0	Walton	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000
November 5	10:35 AM EST	F1	Polk	1.0	30			$5,000 to $50,000

November 22 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
November 22	12:32 AM EST	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000
November 22	12:50 AM EST	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$500 to $5,000

December 11 2 tornadoes

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
December 11	3:59 PM EST	F0	Pinellas	1.0	30			$50,000 to $500,000
December 11	7:00 PM EST	F0	Sarasota	1.0	30			$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.