What the record says
On 17 March 1985, a tornado touched down near Plantation, Florida. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 3 miles long and up to 400 yards wide, rated F3 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 2 people and injured 45.
- F3Fujita rating
- 2deaths
- 45injuries
- 3 mipath length
- 400 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 3 and killed at least one person.
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
The start point was at 27.08, -82.48 and the end point at 27.07, -82.42 (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
- Clearwater, Florida tornado4 April 1966, F4, 11 deaths, 530 injuries, 135.8 miles long
- The Villages, Florida tornado2 February 2007, EF3, 8 deaths, 10 injuries, 10.5 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1985
- Warren, Ohio tornado31 May 1985, F5, 18 deaths, 310 injuries, 47 miles long
- Andover, Ohio tornado31 May 1985, F4, 16 deaths, 125 injuries, 56.2 miles long
- Conneaut, Ohio tornado31 May 1985, F4, 12 deaths, 82 injuries, 14 miles long
- Seven Fields, Pennsylvania tornado31 May 1985, F3, 9 deaths, 120 injuries, 39 miles long
- Pleasantville, Pennsylvania tornado31 May 1985, F4, 7 deaths, 30 injuries, 29 miles long
All tornadoes of 1985 · Florida tornado history · All notable tornadoes