State’s deadliest tornadoes struck in 1998 along I-4

The deadliest series of tornadoes in Florida history struck on Feb. 22 and 23, 1998.

The storms that carved a path from Kissimmee up to Daytona Beach followed the I-4 corridor, leaving 42 dead and more than 250 injured.

It wasn’t just one tornado, but 10 that touched down in Florida, with three as strong as an F3 tornado on the Fujita scale, with winds from 158 to 206 mph.

One that struck near Kissimmee left 25 dead. Another in Seminole County left 13 dead. Another three died when an F3 tornado struck near Windermere while one more person died in Daytona Beach when an F2-level tornado hit near Interstate

95.

Florida is no stranger to tornadoes. According to the NOAA, between 1991 and 2010, Florida averaged 66 tornadoes a year. That puts the state third behind Texas (155) and Kansas (96) in the nation, and ahead of Oklahoma (62) and Nebraska (57).

The severity of Florida’s tornadoes though is usually much less than those of U.S.’s Tornado Alley, and come in the form F0 or F1-level events, not exceeding 112 mph. But not always. The state saw F4-level tornadoes in 1958 and 1966. Those had winds between 207-260 mph, and both also targeted Central Florida.

The 1998 tornadoes were also the start of a bad year for the state in terms of natural disasters. A rash of wildfires struck that year in the summer destroying 126 homes, burning at 500,000 acres and costing the state $600 million, according to a study by the USDA Forest Service.

The state also was hit by Hurricane Earl in northern Florida, saw hurricane-force winds that damaged homes in the Florida Keys by passing Hurricane Georges and saw landfall of Tropical Storm Mitch near Naples.