Sarasota County tornado history

85 tornadoes touched Sarasota County, Florida between 1950 and 2025 — about 1.1 a year. The strongest was rated F3 (Mar 17, 1985). Tornadoes here killed 2 and injured 67 people.

85tornadoes since 1950

F3strongest rating

2killed · 67 injured

18 milongest path · 2000

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F051

(E)F123

(E)F29

(E)F31

(E)F40

(E)F50

unrated1

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: June.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Mar 17, 1985	F3	3 mi	400 yd	45	2
Dec 3, 1971	F2	7.3 mi	100 yd	5	0
Dec 3, 1971	F2	5.9 mi	50 yd	0	0
Dec 3, 1971	F2	4.9 mi	100 yd	3	0
Nov 9, 1968	F2	4.1 mi	100 yd	2	0
Mar 12, 1951	F2	2 mi	77 yd	0	0
Jan 17, 2016	EF2	1.1 mi	350 yd	2	0
Nov 11, 1968	F2	0.1 mi	17 yd	0	0
Jun 13, 1969	F2	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Feb 3, 1970	F2	0.1 mi	10 yd	0	0
Nov 9, 1968	F1	12.3 mi	10 yd	1	0
Dec 3, 1971	F1	6.4 mi	100 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured
Oct 11, 2023	EF0	0.2 mi	50 yd	0
Dec 15, 2022	EF0	0.1 mi	100 yd	0
May 31, 2022	unrated	0.5 mi	25 yd	0
Mar 16, 2022	EF1	1.5 mi	100 yd	1
Jun 26, 2020	EF0	0.4 mi	75 yd	0
Jun 1, 2020	EF0	0.6 mi	75 yd	0
Oct 10, 2018	EF0	—	20 yd	0
Jan 17, 2016	EF2	1.1 mi	350 yd	2
Jan 24, 2015	EF0	2.4 mi	50 yd	0
Jun 6, 2013	EF0	1.6 mi	50 yd	0
Jun 23, 2009	EF1	0.6 mi	100 yd	0
Jul 24, 2007	EF0	0.2 mi	30 yd	0

Deadliest: Mar 17, 1985, F3, 2 killed.

Nearby counties

Manatee County, FL95 Charlotte County, FL66 DeSoto County, FL35 Hardee County, FL24 Hillsborough County, FL152 Pinellas County, FL150 Lee County, FL128 Highlands County, FL49

Questions

How many tornadoes has Sarasota County, Florida had?

85 tornadoes touched Sarasota County, Florida between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 1.1 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Sarasota County?

The strongest rating recorded was F3 on Mar 17, 1985, with a 3-mile path and 2 deaths.

When is tornado season in Sarasota County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in June (12 of 85). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).