Tampa, FL Tornado History — 325 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Tampa, FL had?
Tampa has had 325 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 4 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Tampa?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Tampa was an EF0 on September 25, 2025.
When is tornado season in Tampa?
July is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Tampa, with 55 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 Tampa
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 60 total, averaging 3.0 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Tampa since December 29, 2025
These are 2 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are 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Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete.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 Tampa. 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 Tampa
20 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Tampa since 1950, across 6 events. 900 injuries have been reported across all events. 1966 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F4 on April 4, 1966, which caused 11 fatalities along a 135.8-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Tampa
About Tornadoes in Tampa
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.
Tornado season in Tampa stretches across the calendar rather than clustering in a lone spring window. Sea-breeze thunderstorms bubble up over the Florida peninsula through the humid late spring and summer, occasionally spinning waterspouts ashore, while the cool months carry a different threat: jet-stream disturbances crossing the northern Gulf drag squall lines over Tampa Bay from late fall into spring, and the outer rainbands of tropical cyclones add another source of rotation. With warm, shallow water surrounding the city in every month, moisture is rarely the missing ingredient — timing and wind shear set the rhythm instead.
The archive maintained by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center bears that rhythm out. An F4 tornado on April 4, 1966 carved a 135.8-mile track from the Tampa Bay area across the peninsula, killing 11 people and injuring 530. A fall squall line on October 3, 1992 produced an F3 that killed 3 and injured 75. On December 16, 2020, an EF2 tore a 13.11-mile path through the area, causing about 16 million dollars in damage. An EF2 followed on October 12, 2023, tracking 4.97 miles near the city. Alongside earlier springtime strikes — including the F4 of April 15, 1958, which injured 7 — these events sketch Tampa's cool-season vulnerability, while the event list elsewhere on this page fills in the years between.