47
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Putnam County, Florida: 47 recorded events between 1957 and 2024. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #432 nationally and #30 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Putnam County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Putnam County is the 1970s, when 12 of the county's 47 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 Putnam County archive, tornado makes up 7.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #432 for this hazard and #30 within Florida, putting it in the 85.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Putnam County with 11 recorded events, while Nov 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-12-05 | EF2 | 9.4 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1995-04-24 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 350 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-04 | EF2 | 39.0 mi | 67 yd | Crossed in |
| 1972-01-22 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-05-22 | EF2 | 17.4 mi | 20 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-12 | EF1 | 5.3 mi | 70 yd | Touched down here |
| 2006-07-26 | EF1 | 0.5 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-03 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1983-04-09 | EF1 | 4.0 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-05-25 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 5, 1977 | F2 | 1 | 10 | $250K | |
| Feb 2, 1996 | BOSTWICK | F0 | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Apr 4, 1973 | F2 | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| May 22, 1967 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 2024 | ORANGE MILLS | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 20, 2024 | GEORGETOWN | EF0 | $0 |
| Mar 12, 2022 | HAMMOND | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 2010 | BRIDGEPORT | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 23, 2008 | PALATKA KAY ARKIN AR | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2006 | CRESCENT CITY | F1 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2005 | PALATKA | F0 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2004 | INTERLACHEN | F0 | $0 |
| Sep 5, 2004 | PALATKA | F0 | $0 |
| Sep 5, 2004 | CRESCENT CITY | F0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Putnam County
- Thunderstorm Wind 379
- Hail 109
- Heavy Rain 42
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A line of strong to severe storms moved west to east across Putnam County during the morning of Saturday, March 12th, ahead of a strong cold front. A supercell moving across southern Putnam county and produced an EF1 tornado with peak winds near 93 mph from about 4 miles W of Bakerstown to 3 miles NNE of Bakerstown. Damage along the path included downed and snapped trees, mostly in rural areas. The damage path began near South Georgetown Point Road, crossed U.S. Highway 17 and ended at Crescent Lake north of Clifton Road near Eagle Trail and Osprey Lane. One outbuilding has some structure damage between Duck Drive and Eagle Trail, just north of Clifton Road.
A Seminole Electric employee reported a tornado near 870 North Highway 17 moving north toward Bostwick. This was possibly a waterspout moving inland off the river. At 1647 EDT the public reported a tornado on the ground near West River Road and Mink Road. The parent thunderstorm was moving north along U.S. Highway 17 toward the Bostwick area.
A waterspout developed over the St. Johns River north of Palatka and was spotted near Racy Point. The spout formed from a low level boundary collision between the east coast sea breeze and outflow from a severe storm moving northward from eastern Putnam County. There were sporadic reports of funnel clouds from U.S. Highway 17 then from State Road 207 around 5:55 pm however locations of the funnel cloud were given in various locations. There was no mesocyclone nor low level rotational signature on Doppler radar and environmental conditions were not favorable for mesocyclone tornadoes (i.e. no wind shear). There was no damage with the vortex and it never made landfall.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Putnam County, Florida?
47 tornado events are recorded in Putnam County between 1957 and 2024, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Putnam County?
The strongest tornado on record in Putnam County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Putnam 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 Putnam County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/putnam-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.