Tornadoes are one of nature's most violent storms. In an average year, about 1,000 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries. A tornado is a violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction with wind speeds of 250 mph or more. Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
Here in Brevard County we experience tornadoes from January through December, with the peak as March through June.
If you are new to Florida, you need to be aware that we range from number 2 state for tornadoes through number 4 depending on how you average the tornadoes. That means we get lots of tornadoes. Luckily for us we see mostly F0-F1 tornadoes. The large tornadoes are rare in Florida but do happen as they did in 1998 by 50+ deaths in Central Florida. View the links below and link to our preparedness page.(add link to tornado preparedness)
If you see or experience damage from a tornado the National Weather Service (NWS) Melbourne would like to know. NWS has a spot on their website to submit storm reports:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/StormReport/SubmitReport.php?site=mlb
Please click here for more information on Tornadoes.