It was deemed “The Night of the Tornadoes” -- Florida’s deadliest outbreak since weather records have been kept.

Nine tornadoes scoured the Central Florida landscape, killing 42 and injuring more than 260.

• Kissimmee emergency officials recall deadly night
• F-3 tornado tore through Osceola County
  
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At the time, Michael Capranica was a Kissimmee volunteer Firefighter-EMT.

"It was devastation. Everything these people had was gone,” recalled Capranica. “It was very eerie because power was out, and it’s just pitch black, and what we didn’t realize is we drove right by the strip mall that was on the ground from tornado damage.”

Richard Halquist was a lieutenant with the Kissimmee Fire Department in 1998.

"There was significant damage, much like you might see on TV or have seen in other circumstances but not accustomed to seeing in our jurisdiction,” Halquist remembered.

The culprit? An F-3 tornado packing winds between 158 and 206 mph. It tore a path through northern Osceola County, with a majority of the lives lost in the Ponderosa RV Park and Morningside Acres neighborhood.

"Some places weren’t touched, some places had mass damage. It was just incredible,” Capranica said. “You’d see trailers that were picked up and upside down, just totally upside down. Everything is chaos in there.”

Since then, emergency officials have secured plans in the event of any future weather disasters.

“Even prior to an impending event, up to 72 hours ahead of time when we start to make sure all of our partners and our emergency response team is prepared to deal with whatever circumstances may come up, and that’s a big improvement from 20 years ago,” Halquist said.

And although technology and the tools to get the word out sooner have come a long way since the outbreak of 1998, it doesn’t erase the memories of the night of the tornadoes.

When I asked, “Has 20 years healed?” Capranica responded, “I think you heal, you take it, you move on. There’s still scars. It’s fine. It’s good you know. It’s part of who you are. Without these bad times, you don’t realize some of those good things that come from it.”