Stats

Path length: 1 miles

Width:  100 yards

Fatalities:  0

Injuries:  112

Rating:  F3

County:  Escambia

Tornado Path

Click Map To Enlarge

SPC coordinates (only one point provided by SPC):  

Start: 30.35 / -87.17       

Corrected Coordinates based on damage reports:

Start: 30.349157/-87.166560     End: 30.362652/-87.157508

Note:  Exact tornado path may not be straight and/or continuous.

Summary

During the early AM of February 7, 1971, a waterspout south of Santa Rosa Island moved northeast, becoming a tornado near Navy Cove.  Half of the units in a 112-unit apartment complex were destroyed near Gulf Breeze.  112 people were injured, there were no fatalities.

Image from
The State Archives of Florida

"Survivors of a tornado which wrecked the English Cove Apartments shown here and a motel across the street go through the rubble looking for items not destroyed by the twister."

Newspaper Clippings

Discrepancies:

We gathered information for this event from the SPC & NCDC Databases, the February 1971 Storm Data Publication and Thomas Grazulis in Significant Tornadoes and found the following differences:

Path Length:

  • Grazulis has a length at 4 miles.
  • Remaining sources have a path of 1 mile.

Rating:

  • SPC/NCDC have an F3 rating.
  • Grazulis has an F2 rating.

    Sources:

    The Storm Prediction Center

    NCDC Storm Events Database

    February 1971 Storm Data Publication

    newspapers.com

    Grazulis, Thomas P. (1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VT: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. Page 1120.

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    Newspaper clips are embedded via newspapers.com. Please see their terms and conditions.

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