EF0 Tornado — Seminole, Florida

2019-01-24 · near Lake Monroe, Seminole, Florida

Event narrative

A NWS damage survey confirmed an EF-0 tornado occurred in Sanford. The tornado developed from a thunderstorm within a broken squall line which advanced rapidly across the central Florida peninsula during the morning. Peak winds were estimated between 75 and 85 mph, along a path of nearly one half mile, with a width of 175 yards. The tornado moved generally northeast beginning near the intersection of Church Street and Monroe Road in Sanford, crossing a lumber yard, SunRail tracks and dissipating within the Central Florida Zoo. Numerous structures in the lumber yard were damaged or destroyed, two (empty) railway cars were overturned, and several trees were uprooted or snapped along the tornado path.

Wider weather episode

A solid squall line raced across the interior of central Florida during the morning and produced very intense straight line winds in Mascotte-Groveland, damaging several structures. As the line continued east, storms along the line became more scattered and an isolated, short-track tornado affected Sanford. As the line reached the coast, strong winds produced damage to the roof of a home and to a tennis club in Indian Harbour Beach.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (28.8225, -81.3219)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 795472. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.