Does Florida get tornadoes?

National Weather Service studies split Florida's tornadoes into two seasons. In the wet season, May through October, they form in thunderstorms set off by the day's heat and are most common in early summer, most often in the afternoon. Tropical storms and hurricanes can also bring tornadoes. In the Florida Keys, most waterspouts form in the wet season, and some move onshore as tornadoes.

In the dry season, tornadoes come with low-pressure storm systems and their cold fronts. A study by the Weather Service office in Melbourne found that these dry-season tornadoes cause most of Florida's tornado deaths, that the strong ones strike most often overnight, and that strong El Nino winters raise the risk. The same study found that most Florida tornado deaths since 1966 have been in manufactured homes, campers or trailers, and that manufactured homes built to older codes are not safe shelter from a strong tornado.

The deadliest tornado event in Florida history came overnight on February 22 and 23, 1998. Between about 11 p.m. and 2:30 a.m., seven tornadoes struck Central Florida, killing 42 people and injuring more than 260 in Volusia, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Brevard counties. Three of them were rated F3. The tornadoes came while many people were asleep and not watching television or listening to the radio.

The Weather Service office in Melbourne is at 421 Croton Road, and its phone number is 321-255-0212.

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