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 north of Red Rock Road and just east of Will Sexton Road in forested areas. The tornado tracked east-southeast eventually crossing Red Rock Road at the intersection of Pleasant Home Church Road and Bryant Bridge Road. The tornado lifted shortly after this point. 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.