Southchase, FL Tornado History — 124 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Southchase, FL had?
Southchase has had 124 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 5 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Southchase?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Southchase was an Unrated on August 4, 2025.
When is tornado season in Southchase?
June is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Southchase, 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 Southchase
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 27 total, averaging 1.4 per year over this window.
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 Southchase
54 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Southchase since 1950, across 6 events. 972 injuries have been reported across all events. 1998 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F3 on February 23, 1998, which caused 25 fatalities along a 28.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Southchase
About Tornadoes in Southchase
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.
Southchase can pass entire seasons with only routine sea-breeze thunderstorms, yet its tornado history is concentrated in a handful of explosive days when the atmosphere over Central Florida aligned all at once. The setting explains both moods: moisture streams in from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic alike, and while colliding summer sea breezes spin up brief, weak funnels, the graver threat arrives in winter and early spring, when an El Niño-sharpened subtropical jet drives squall lines across the peninsula and can spawn strong tornadoes after dark.
That nocturnal pattern produced the area's grimmest hours. In the early morning of February 23, 1998, a family of F3 tornadoes swept through greater Orlando; one of them killed 25 people, injured 150, and stayed on the ground for 28 miles. Decades earlier, on April 4, 1966, an F4 crossed the peninsula on a 135.8-mile path through Central Florida, killing 11 people and injuring 530.
The ledger maintained by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center shows how this pattern spans generations. Its opening entry is an F2 in May 1950, long before Southchase itself was built out. At the modern end of the ledger, an EF2 tracked 4 miles through the area on March 10, 2025 and caused millions of dollars in damage, with another tornado following that August. Between such dates the quiet returns — which is exactly why the outbreak days matter here.