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F1 tornado in St. Lucie County, Florida

Tornado March 9, 1998 · St. Lucie County, Florida

Rating

0.5 mi

Path length

50 yd

Path width

$3.2M

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

An F1 tornado touched down at the St. Lucie County Fair grounds destroying 20 amusement park rides, bleachers, and out buildings. The tornado then moved northeast toward the St. Lucie County Airport where it overturned 8 planes and destroyed a hanger. No one was injured.

Began near Ft Pierce (27.4700, -80.3300).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

F1 Okeechobee County F0 Osceola County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5640233. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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