F0 tornado, Islamorada, Florida, February 2, 1998

1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

F0

Date

February 2, 1998

Touchdown

7:10 PM EST (00:10 UTC)

Path length

0.5 miles (0.8 km)

Path width

30 yards (27 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Monroe County

Touchdown point

24.920, -80.630

Lift-off point

24.920, -80.630

Record number

749

...a developing low pressure over the north gulf of mexico resulted in a tightening pressure gradient over south florida and adjacent waters. Southeast winds sustained at gale force with higher gusts occurred through most of 02/02/98. A pre-frontal trough of low pressure developed over the southeastern gulf of mexico early 02/02/98. This resulted in a highly unstable airmass which was lifted by strong mid and upper level jets by late afternoon. Tornado and severe thunderstorm producing storms moved through the florida keys between 1530And 1930 est. The thunderstorms moved over south florida between 1930 and 2130 est. The culmination of gail force winds...several severe thunderstorms and two tornadoes resulted in widespread damage in the florida keys. Trees...power lines and light poles were down most locations south of key largo. Some minor coastal flooding occurred. Boats were capsized and docks were damaged. A support buoy for an underwater lab was dislodged and drifted ashore. Fema reported one house completely destroyed and 23 homes damaged. Several businesses were damaged. Extensive damage occurred to the fishing industry primarilly loss of lobster traps.

Tornado moved from the south across Islamorada near MM 80. Extensive damage to homes and businesses. Widespread tree and vegetation loss.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 10:58 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

Marathon (MTH), 48 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Miami radar (KAMX), 80 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:09 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

The live radar over the trackEvery 1998 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.