Tavares, FL Tornado History — 110 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Tavares, FL had?
Tavares has had 110 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 5 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Tavares?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Tavares was an Unrated on May 12, 2025.
When is tornado season in Tavares?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Tavares, with 17 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 Tavares
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 Tavares
40 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Tavares since 1950, across 7 events. 324 injuries have been reported across all events. 2007 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was an EF3 on February 2, 2007, which caused 13 fatalities along a 26.0-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Tavares
About Tornadoes in Tavares
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.
Mid-century weather logs from the lake country around Tavares already noted tornadoes — a brief F1 brushed the area in January 1953 — and the file has thickened in the decades since. An F1 on November 9, 1968 tracked 69.3 miles and injured 3 people. April 15, 1987 brought an F2 that took 1 life and injured 7. During the March 13, 1993 superstorm, an F2 carved a 30-mile path, killing 1 person and injuring 60. The cool-season danger sharpened on February 23, 1998, when F3 tornadoes left 3 dead along one path and 13 along another. Before dawn on February 2, 2007, a family of EF3 tornadoes crossed the region; one killed 13 people, another 8. An EF2 damaged homes on March 10, 2025.
That calendar reflects a seasonal rhythm. Summer sea breezes push inland from both coasts and collide over the lakes, spinning up brief, weak tornadoes on humid afternoons. The stronger storms around Tavares, though, have arrived in winter and early spring, when a subtropical jet stream — often energized in El Niño winters — drives squall lines off the Gulf of Mexico and across central Florida. Warm Gulf moisture supplies the instability; the jet overhead adds the shear that lets storms rotate. The event list elsewhere on this page, drawn from NOAA Storm Prediction Center records, shows that seasonal split repeating decade after decade.