Sarasota, FL Tornado History — 164 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Sarasota, FL had?
Sarasota has had 164 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 4 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Sarasota?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Sarasota was an EF0 on October 11, 2023.
When is tornado season in Sarasota?
July is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Sarasota, with 26 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Sarasota
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 25 total, averaging 1.3 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Sarasota since December 29, 2025
These is a preliminary report, not confirmed tornadoes. It has not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and is not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Sarasota. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Sarasota
4 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Sarasota since 1950, across 2 events. 90 injuries have been reported across all events. 2016 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on March 17, 1985, which caused 2 fatalities along a 3.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Sarasota
About Tornadoes in Sarasota
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Quiet is the default along Sarasota Bay: long stretches when the tornado threat seems almost theoretical, punctuated by days when damaging storms arrive with little notice. The flat coastal plain between the Gulf of Mexico and Florida's wet interior turns hostile when deep tropical moisture meets a stalled front, the outer bands of a landfalling cyclone, or a winter squall line racing ahead of the subtropical jet.
The standout entries in the local record cluster on such days. April 15, 1958, produced an F4 that, despite a track of roughly a tenth of a mile, injured 7 people across a swath some 300 yards wide. On March 17, 1985, an F3 carved a 3-mile path through the area, killing 2 people and injuring 45. And on January 17, 2016, an EF2 ran 9.2 miles, killing 2 and injuring 4, while a companion EF2 that same date injured 2 more and caused an estimated 12 million dollars in damage.
Seasonality here runs opposite to much of the rest of the country: summer's sea-breeze and tropical-cyclone spinups tend to be brief and weak, while the cool months — note the January, March, and April dates above — bring the organized, longer-track storms. The complete local history, compiled from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, is rendered elsewhere on this page, where counts, ratings, and the notable-event list stay current with live data.