EF1 Tornado — Glades, Florida

2024-10-09 · near Lakeport, Glades, Florida

Event narrative

A tornado was spawned across the western portions of Lake Okeechobee, where it was captured by the Harney Pond WeatherSTEM camera between 10:35 AM EST and 10:44 AM EST. The tornado emerged over the Herbert Hoover Dike and entered the Miller Drive/Friendship Drive neighborhood where it damaged several manufactured homes and vegetation before crossing Florida State Road 78. The tornado advanced down Click Drive where it damaged several manufactured homes, rolled an outbuilding

off its foundation, and snapped a wooden utility pole at its base. The tornado proceeded into fields to the west of the Harney Pond Canal before entering the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation. Residents reported seeing the tornado to the west of the Harney Pond Canal from the embankment as it crossed several cattle pastures before entering the Red Barn area to the west of Brighton Seminole Village. Several mature hardwood trees were uprooted or suffered a loss of their crowns along Red Barn Road. It likely dissipated as it crossed the canal to the north around 10:59 AM EST. The tornado was rated as an EF-1, after traveling a total 6.28 miles, with an estimated maximum winds around 110 mph. Click Drive appeared to have some of the highest damage indicators attributable to building damage with this tornado damage survey. No official damage amount was available.

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 → (26.9874, -81.0846)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1219891. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.