EF2 Tornado — Okaloosa, Florida

2024-05-10 · near Beaver Creek, Okaloosa, Florida

Event narrative

After thorough review of available high resolution Planet satellite imagery, it was determined the EF2 tornado that ground survey crew assessed in Munson began much earlier. The tornado began south of Highway 4 to the west of Berrydale where a persistent narrow path of significant tree damage was evident on Planet imagery. This narrow swath continued to be evident in the forest south of Berrydale near Highway 4. Once the tornado passed Highway 87 N it likely intensified significantly as deforestation extent became significant and the tornado turned more to the southeast. After its southeast jog it turned back to the east reaching Highway 4 where ground survey crew initially assessed the tornado. The tornado continued along State Highway 4 about 3 miles west northwest of Munson where pine trees were snapped, and power lines were downed in a convergent pattern. The tornado peaked in intensity at an estimated 115 mph (EF2) over Munson where numerous pine trees were snapped in a convergent pattern in a swath about 450 yards wide. The tornado then took a slight jog to the east-southeast as it essentially paralleled State Highway 4 east of Munson with numerous pine and oak trees snapped on both sides of the road. As the tornado continued east of Munson across the Blackwater River State Forest, it became a broader multivortex with several prominent sub-vortices rotating about the main tornado vortex. Snaps continued into Okaloosa County Florida where the tornado is estimated to have lifted to the northwest of Baker between Highway 4 West and Sherman Kennedy Road. This survey was able to be completed with the assistance of NASA SPoRT, NASAMSFC, NASA CSDA and the NASA Disasters Program providing high resolution Planet satellite imagery. Without the availability of this remote sensing imagery, the true path length, width, and track of this tornado would not have been able to be determined.

Wider weather episode

Two storm complexes moved across southeastern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama, and into the Florida Panhandle during the early morning hours of 5/10 producing destructive straight-line winds and multiple tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.8500, -86.7890)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1186964. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.