84
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
66
Direct injuries
$45.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Sarasota County, Florida: 84 recorded events between 1951 and 2023. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #98 nationally and #15 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Sarasota County, Florida: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Sarasota County is the 1970s, when 25 of the county's 84 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 Sarasota County archive, tornado makes up 21.8% of all recorded severe weather across 12 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #98 for this hazard and #15 within Florida, putting it in the 96.7 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Sarasota County with 11 recorded events, while Feb 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-03-17 | EF3 | 3.0 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2016-01-17 | EF2 | 1.2 mi | 350 yd | Crossed in |
| 1971-12-03 | EF2 | 4.9 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1971-12-03 | EF2 | 5.9 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1970-02-03 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-13 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-09 | EF2 | 4.1 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-11-11 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
| 2022-03-16 | EF1 | 1.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-23 | EF1 | 0.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 17, 1985 | F3 | 2 | 45 | $25.0M | |
| Aug 21, 1987 | F1 | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Dec 3, 1971 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Dec 3, 1971 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Jan 17, 2016 | PINE SHRS | EF2 | 0 | 2 | $12.0M |
| Nov 9, 1968 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Mar 16, 2022 | SARASOTA BEACH | EF1 | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Dec 24, 1978 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2023 | GATOR CREEK ESTATES | EF0 | $10K |
| Dec 16, 2022 | NORTH PORT | EF0 | $0 |
| May 31, 2022 | DESOTO LAKES | EFU | $0 |
| Mar 16, 2022 | SARASOTA BEACH | EF1 | $1.0M |
| Jun 26, 2020 | VAMO | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 1, 2020 | VENICE | EF0 | $0 |
| Oct 10, 2018 | SIESTA KEY | EF0 | $0 |
| Jan 17, 2016 | PINE SHRS | EF2 | $12.0M |
| Jan 24, 2015 | MANASOTA | EF0 | $20K |
| Jun 6, 2013 | SOUTH VENICE | EF0 | $10K |
Other hazards here
More from Sarasota County
- Thunderstorm Wind 149
- Hail 48
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
An NWS Storm Survey crew found damage to multiple homes and structures along the path of the tornado. One home on Siesta Key had the second floor collapse on to the first. Two people were injured in that home. The tornado was 350 yards wide as it came ashore on Siesta Key before narrowing to around 100 yards wide as it crossed the intercoastal waterways.
A tornado touched down at the Tuttle Elementary School at Brink Avenue north of County Road 780 (Fruitville Road) in Sarasota and severely damaged six classrooms, a portion of a portable dining room, downed a concrete wall and reduced a pavilion to a pile of rubble. Six additional classrooms incurred minor damage from the tornado before it lifted and dissipated. A few trees and large tree limbs were downed by the tornado before it lifted and dissipated.
The tornado touched down along Fruitville Road, snapping a few trees, and then traveled south into a plant farm. It tore two metal beams from the foundation of a metal building on the farm and then moved across a field of more than two dozen greenhouses, destroying or seriously damaging all but one. The tornado then continued south into a wooded area, where it damaged a few more trees before lifting. Winds were estimated around 95mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Sarasota County, Florida?
84 tornado events are recorded in Sarasota County between 1951 and 2023, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Sarasota County?
The strongest tornado on record in Sarasota County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Sarasota 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 Sarasota County, Florida.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/florida/sarasota-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.