Rick Patrick, Greene Publishing, Inc.
In the 54 years from 1958 through 2012 Madison County had a total of 16 reported tornadoes. This is a relatively small number compared to counties like Dade, which had a total of 136 in that same reporting period. Although Madison County had few tornadoes during that time, Madison County suffered more deaths from tornadoes than most other counties in the state. Of the 136 tornadoes that hit Dade County during that time, there was only one fatality attributed to a tornado.
The deadliest year for tornadoes in Madison County was 1988 when a tornado ripped through the county and caused extensive damage on April, 19. The April 19, 1988 tornado killed four and left 18 injured in its wake. This was the tornado that destroyed the Van H. Priest Auditorium on the North Florida Junior College campus and damaged several other structures in its path. That tornado was determined to be an “F3” tornado, meaning the storm had winds of between 158 miles per hour and 206 miles per hour.
Later that same year Madison County suffered another deadly tornado in November. The Nov. 5, 1988 tornado killed one and injured three. That tornado was an “F2” tornado according to the Fujita-Pearson scale. An F2 tornado has winds of 113 to 157 miles per hour.
September and December have been the months in which more tornadoes have occurred. In the 1958-2012 time period, there were three tornadoes during the month of December and three tornadoes during the month of September.
Tornadoes are measured according to a scale called the Fujita-Pearson scale. The scale is a 0-6 scale with a category 0 tornado having winds of 40-72 miles per hour, a category 6 tornado has winds of 319-379 miles per hour.
Oklahoma has had five “F5” tornadoes since 1950, the year the National Weather Service began measuring tornadoes.
Florida has not had a category F4 tornado in the 1958-2012 time frame, however, there have been several category F3 tornadoes.
The deadliest Florida tornado during this time period was a Feb. 22, 1998, F3 tornado that struck Kissimmee in Osceola County; leaving 25 dead and 150 injured in its path. That tornado was one of seven twisters that hit the county on that evening. In total, 42 people perished and 250 were injured as a result of those tornadoes. In addition, 3,000 buildings were destroyed in this worst tornado event in Florida history.