EFU Tornado — Hendry, Florida

2024-10-09 · near Harlem, Hendry, Florida

Event narrative

The tornado first spotted near Interstate 75 just west of the Collier/Broward County line traveled a total 13.52 miles through Collier and Hendry Counties. Florida Department of Transportation traffic cameras and numerous public videos showed the progress of a large tornado across Interstate 75 and north-northwestward over rural portions of eastern Collier County to the west of Snake Road. After traveling 9.51 miles, the tornado was spotted crossing the Hendry County line and entered the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation around 8:53 AM EST. It traveled north-northwestward for an additional 4.01 miles in Hendry County before dissipating. A storm chaser provided a video with debris aloft crossing Josie Billie Highway just east of Big Cypress Seminole Village. There were no reports, nor storm survey findings, indicating damage caused by the tornado.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Milton became a Category 5 hurricane in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Monday, October 7th about 735 miles SW of Tampa while moving east-southeast, then turned east and northeast on Tuesday, October 8th while maintaining Category 4 and 5 strength. Milton's maximum winds decreased as it approached the Florida peninsula on Wednesday, October 9th, and made landfall near Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and a minimum central pressure of 954 mb. The outer circulation of Milton began affecting South Florida late on October 8th, with sustained tropical storm force winds spreading across much of the region through the early morning hours of Thursday, October 10th.

A total of 15 tornadoes were recorded across South Florida on Wednesday, October 9th, two of these reaching EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

Moderate to major coastal flooding occurred most of the Collier County coast, mainly on October 9th from late morning through the overnight. Inundation above ground was in the 2-4 foot range across much of the beach and bayfront locations across the county, with a maximum estimated inundation of near 5 feet in Chokoloskee. The tide level at the NOS gauge in Naples Bay near the city dock reached 5.08 ft above Mean Higher High Water (MHHW).

A total of 2,900 people evacuated to refuge centers in Collier County, and about 1,000 in Palm Beach County.

All of the associated effects of Milton in South Florida resulted in 10 injuries and at least $361 million in property damage. The 15 tornadoes associated with Milton resulted in 10 injuries and at least $81 million in damage, mainly in Palm Beach and Glades counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (26.2600, -80.9000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1219754. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.