The
1998 Kissimmee tornado outbreak of February 22–23, 1998, was a devastating
tornado outbreak, the deadliest
tornado event in
Florida history, that is sometimes known as
The Night of the Tornadoes. Affecting the I-4 corridor of
Central Florida, including the
Greater Orlando area, the tornadoes—among the strongest ever recorded in Florida—produced F3 (in some cases, near-F4) damage, killed 42 people, and caused 260 injuries. The previous record for the highest tornado death toll in Florida history was 17 on March 31, 1962. In all, 12 tornadoes touched down, one of which was long lived and tracked for nearly . The first major, F3 tornado of the outbreak came at around 11:40 pm in
Winter Garden, near
Windermere in
Orange County, killing three people. The deadliest and most destructive tornado of the night struck the
Kissimmee–
St. Cloud area, where 25 people were killed, and produced near-F4 damage. Only two other tornadoes, both rated F4, in
1958 and
1966 produced more intense damage in Florida. Another F3 hit in
Seminole County, near
Sanford, and in
Volusia County, killing 13. The last tornado of the night was a weak F1 that hit the town of
Cape Canaveral in
Brevard County.