EF1 tornado, Lynn Haven to Southport, Florida, April 27, 2023

1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

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

3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

6. EF5over 200 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

EF1

Date

April 27, 2023

Touchdown

3:04 PM CDT (20:04 UTC)

Lifted

3:05 PM CDT (20:05 UTC)

On the ground

1 minutes

Path length

0.8 miles (1.3 km)

Path width

75 yards (69 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$200,000

County

Bay County

Touchdown point

30.248, -85.665

Lift-off point

30.257, -85.656

Record number

2304271404-01

17 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 110 mph.

• Start of tornado once it moved onshore
• Disc golf basket bent. Based on nearby damage, was likely impacted by debris.
• playground cover blown off
• shed shifted from foundation and green house lifted and displaced 5 to 10 feet. Partially destroyed

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

A strong spring storm system moved through the area with ample instability and shear for severe weather. Numerous reports of severe weather were received across the tri-state area. Two tornadoes occurred across southwest Georgia, and seven tornadoes occurred across the eastern Florida panhandle and big bend. An EF2 tornado produced significant damage in the town of Hosford, FL.

The tornado likely first touched down against the tree line along the bay across from A.L. Kinsaul Park. The initial damage included some roof damage to a gazebo where the panels were blown off. It looks like at the strongest damage point it was estimated that the tornado was 75 yards in width. Just across from the park to the northeast, the roof of a house was nearly completely destroyed. There was a carport attached to the roof which was demolished, and the roof was then lifted off and carried across maybe 20 yards across the street and impacted another house. This second house had the cars in the driveway lifted and turned a few feet. The home suffered structural damage to the front wall with cracks spreading towards the back of the home. These two homes appeared to suffered the most direct damage. Turning north down the road, the neighborhood had similar damage to siding of the homes as most of the damage came from a southwest to northeast direction. Snapped trees, patio furniture tossed, and broken windows were the most common impacts. Near the end of the path, a large shed's roof was lifted off and carried a few feet away. About 3/4 mile northeast of the start point, the tornado likely weakened as the damage becomes more minor consisting of roof siding damage and snapped twigs. On the northern sides of homes, hail damage was evident due to hail being driven onto the sides of homes on the north side of the tornado. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 110 mph. Total damage cost was estimated.

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

19 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:45 UTC, 19 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:15 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 15:37 UTC and running to 20:51 UTC.

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:10 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.

The Eglin Afb radar (KEVX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 20:06 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.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2023 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

8 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.