What the record says
On 4 April 1966, a tornado touched down near Clearwater, Florida. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 135.8 miles long and up to 300 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 11 people and injured 530.
- F4Fujita rating
- 11deaths
- 530injuries
- 135.8 mipath length
- 300 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
- Brevard County, Florida
- Hillsborough County, Florida
- Orange County, Florida
- Osceola County, Florida
- Pinellas County, Florida
- Polk County, Florida
The start point was at 27.92, -82.80 and the end point at 28.43, -80.67 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in Florida
- Orlando, Florida tornado22 February 1998, F3, 25 deaths, 150 injuries, 28 miles long
- Pace, Florida tornado31 March 1962, F3, 17 deaths, 100 injuries, 6.9 miles long
- DeLand, Florida tornado2 February 2007, EF3, 13 deaths, 51 injuries, 26 miles long
- Sanford, Florida tornado22 February 1998, F3, 13 deaths, 36 injuries, 16 miles long
- The Villages, Florida tornado2 February 2007, EF3, 8 deaths, 10 injuries, 10.5 miles long
- Fort Pierce, Florida tornado9 October 2024, EF3, 6 deaths, 21.2 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1966
- Learned, Mississippi tornado3 March 1966, F5, 58 deaths, 518 injuries, 202.5 miles long
- Topeka, Kansas tornado8 June 1966, F5, 16 deaths, 450 injuries, 21.1 miles long
- Belmond, Iowa tornado14 October 1966, F5, 6 deaths, 172 injuries, 9.7 miles long
- Venturia, North Dakota tornado31 July 1966, F3, 2 deaths, 4 injuries, 26.4 miles long
- Leavenworth, Kansas tornado8 June 1966, F4, 1 death, 2 injuries, 19.9 miles long
All tornadoes of 1966 · Florida tornado history · All notable tornadoes