Tornado in Santa Rosa County, Florida

A new EF-U tornado has been discovered via high resolution Planet satellite imagery from the May 10th tornado event. A radar tornado debris signature was present which necessitated the review of available satellite imagery to confirm the existence of this tornado. The tornado began near Highway 89 just northeast of Chumuckla and tracked east-southeast towards Highway 87 N. The tornado likely lifted just prior to the highway as the damage path evident on satellite imagery ends just prior to the highway. Once higher resolution imagery becomes available, the tornado intensity may be able to be assessed. 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.

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.