Central Florida's 'worst day of tornadoes' kills at least 36
February 23, 1998
CENTRAL FLORIDA (CNN) -- At least 36 people were killed and more than 200 injured when severe El Niņo-powered storms hit in and around Orlando, Florida, late Sunday and early Monday, spawning tornadoes that damaged or destroyed scores of buildings and knocked out power.
Tornadoes pitched trailers skyward, flattened others and uprooted trees, but at least three of the area's popular theme parks, including Walt Disney World, were open for business as usual.
Osceola County
Southeast of Orlando, in Osceola County, authorities said at least 14 people died, about 100 people were injured and nearly 200 structures were damaged.
The Ponderosa Camp Ground north of Kissimmee, where most of the county's deaths occurred, was reduced to a debris-strewn field.
The campground is located behind Osceola County stadium, spring-training home of the Houston Astros.
In Buenaventura Lakes, a Kissimmee suburb, dozens of homes and a shopping center were damaged. "It's just a facade. Everything behind it was torn up," said Stephen LaFreniere, manager of the 27-store strip mall.
I was actually in Downtown Orlando that night. I knew the storms were "weird" by the circular pattern of lightning. I decided to go home because I had ordered a wrestling pay per view, and was afraid the lightning would knock out the power and mess up the vcr which I had recording. Talk about stupid, I had no idea what was occouring around me as I drove down the highway.
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Originally Posted by 15%
nit picker.
You could bend over and we'll test em and you tell us the results 
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