First significant tornado in over 25 years hits Lake Mary

Remembering 1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak

ORLANDO, Fla. - An EF2 tornado touched down in Seminole County, crossing over the FOX 35 News studios, as fast-moving severe storms pushed across Central Florida on Monday morning.

Press conference: NWS rates Lake Mary tornado EF2

The National Weather Service held a press conference following the tornado that made landfall in Lake Mary. The NWS ranked the tornado as an EF2 with 115 mph winds.

The tornado reportedly touched down with winds peaking at 115 mph at 9:36 a.m. – just two minutes after the National Weather Service (NWS) of Melbourne issued a tornado warning for the area, officials said.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries were reported, emergency management officials said in a news conference Monday afternoon.

First significant tornado since 1998

The Lake Mary tornado is considered the first significant tornado that has touched down in Orange and Seminole County in over 25 years.

A significant tornado or EF2 is defined as a tornado that causes considerable damage with roofs torn off frame houses; mobile homes demolished; boxcars pushed over; large trees snapped or uprooted; light-object missiles generated. Wind speeds must also be between 113-157 mph, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak

According to the NWS, a powerful tornado outbreak in East-Central Florida on the night of February 22-23, 1998, became the deadliest in the state’s history, leaving 42 people dead and more than 260 others injured. Between approximately 11 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, seven tornadoes ripped through the National Weather Service Office (NWSO) Melbourne county warning area, causing widespread devastation.

While there was significant structural damage to a block home in the Lakeside subdivision in Kissimmee, Florida, no fatalities occurred in this area. Photograph courtesy of Lynn Maximuk.

The storm system produced unusually strong tornadoes, with three reaching F3 intensity on the Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale, with wind speeds between 158 and 206 mph. This event surpassed the previous record for tornado-related deaths in Florida, which stood at 17 from a 1962 tornado in the Florida Panhandle.

Aerial view of damage to homes in Lakeside subdivision in Kissimmee, Florida. The tornado moved from the upper right to the lower left, narrowly missing a school. Photograph courtesy of Robert Sheets.

The tornadoes caused damage estimated at more than $100 million, destroying more than 700 structures and damaging over 3,000. While this assessment focuses on the NWSO Melbourne area, two additional tornado touchdowns were reported earlier in the evening in the NWSO Tampa Bay area.

Nearly total devastation occurred in a narrow corridor through Ponderosa RV Park in Kissimmee, Florida. Multiple fatalities occurred at this location. Photograph courtesy of Robert Sheets.

This devastating outbreak remains the ninth deadliest weather-related event in Florida’s history, with the 1928 Lake Okeechobee hurricane holding the top spot with over 1,800 fatalities, according to the NWS.

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