70
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
157
Direct injuries
$37.1M
Property damage
Tornado in Orange County, Florida: 70 recorded events between 1950 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #165 nationally and #20 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Orange County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Orange County is the 1970s, when 18 of the county's 70 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Orange County archive, tornado makes up 9.3% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #165 for this hazard and #20 within Florida, putting it in the 94.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Orange County with 16 recorded events, while Oct is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-04-04 | EF4 | 135.8 mi | 300 yd | Crossed in |
| 1998-02-22 | EF3 | 28.0 mi | 250 yd | Crossed in |
| 1998-02-22 | EF3 | 18.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1981-03-19 | EF3 | 8.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1993-03-12 | EF2 | 30.0 mi | 200 yd | Crossed in |
| 1959-04-02 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-02 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-02-02 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 20 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-01-08 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1978-01-08 | EF2 | 19.3 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 1998 | WINTER GARDEN | F3 | 3 | 70 | $15.0M |
| Apr 2, 1959 | F2 | 1 | 9 | $250K | |
| Jan 8, 1978 | F2 | 0 | 23 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 28, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 16 | $2.5M | |
| Feb 25, 1992 | F1 | 0 | 11 | $250K | |
| Nov 9, 1990 | F1 | 0 | 9 | $250K | |
| Feb 2, 1983 | F2 | 0 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Feb 23, 1998 | (MCO)ORLANDO INTL AR | F3 | 0 | 5 | $5.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 26, 2025 | LAKE PICKETT | EF0 | $8K |
| Jun 6, 2024 | PIEDMONT | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2020 | BELLE ISLE | EF1 | $956K |
| Jun 6, 2020 | SKY LAKE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2020 | ORLOVISTA | EF0 | $0 |
| Dec 9, 2018 | UNION PARK | EF0 | $40K |
| Jul 8, 2017 | TANGELO PARK | EF0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2016 | KILLARNEY | EF0 | $21K |
| Jul 24, 2014 | CHRISTMAS | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 29, 2014 | WEWAHATEE | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Orange County
- Thunderstorm Wind 315
- Hail 273
- Lightning 41
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Lake County tornado moved into Orange County about 5 miles southwest of Winter Garden moving northeast at 45 mph. It rapidly intensified to a category F3 tornado with estimated winds near 200 mph. The tornado moved through Winter Garden between 11:47 pm and 11:55 pm destroying a mobile home community in Winter Garden. There were three fatalities and 70 injuries. Five hundred structures were either damaged or destroyed.
The Kissimmee tornado moved into Orange County southeast of Orlando International Airport as a category F3. The tornado affected rural swampy areas, striking few structures except for lakeside neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane. The tornado lifted as it approached the St. Johns River on the east central border of Orange County in the Tosohatchee State Preserve.
A small F1 tornado touched down briefly along the west edge of Orlando near Lake Hiawassee. Fifty-seven homes received minor damage, mainly to porches, awnings and pool screens. The garage on one home was completely destroyed.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Orange County, Florida?
70 tornado events are recorded in Orange County between 1950 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Orange County?
The strongest tornado on record in Orange County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Orange County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Orange County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/orange-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.