EF2 Tornado — Sarasota, Florida

2016-01-17 · near Pine Shrs, Sarasota, Florida

Event narrative

An NWS Storm Survey crew found damage to multiple homes and structures along the path of the tornado. One home on Siesta Key had the second floor collapse on to the first. Two people were injured in that home. The tornado was 350 yards wide as it came ashore on Siesta Key before narrowing to around 100 yards wide as it crossed the intercoastal waterways.

Wider weather episode

A strong and deepening area of low pressure across the northern Gulf pushed a strong line of thunderstorms across the Florida peninsula. Numerous supercell thunderstorms were observed and a few produced strong tornadoes along and near the coast.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (27.2530, -82.5396)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 609339. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.