Early morning temperatures had risen well above average for the season; combined with increased moisture and a powerful jet stream, this created enough instability and wind shear for thunderstorms to rotate and spawn tornadoes.

The first tornado damaged 1,145 homes and destroyed 200 others in Sumter County before hitting the Lady Lake area where it killed eight people.

[3] The second tornado killed 13 people in the Lake Mack area and damaged or destroyed over 500 homes and other structures during its existence, including the 1,500-foot (460-meter) tall transmission tower of WCFB FM.

[6] The conditions helped several thunderstorm cells to develop ahead of the cold front in a line, in the Gulf of Mexico.

[13] The supercell produced its last tornado east of I-95 at 4:22 am EST (0922 UTC) and dissipated five minutes later at the Intracoastal Waterway, 3 miles (4.8 km) from where it touched down.

[21] U.S. President George W. Bush signed a declaration to designate Sumter, Lake, Volusia and Seminole counties as disaster areas.

The Tampa Bay chapter of the American Red Cross sent six volunteers with emergency response vehicles to the main area of damage.

[24] The Walt Disney Company donated $50,000 to the American Red Cross to help aid victims and Feed The Children sent two truckloads of relief supplies to the central Florida area.

The broadcast was slated to be from Miami, where Super Bowl XLI was held two days later as the game was to air on CBS.