EF2 Tornado — Martin, Florida

2024-10-09 · near Gomez, Martin, Florida

Event narrative

A tornado touched down in a wooded rural area in between I-95 and US-1 in eastern Martin County. Damage began in the Lost Lake subdivision before the tornado moved north into The Preserve, where vegetative damage was extensive and numerous concrete block homes experienced significant tile loss. The tornado moved north into the Mariner Sands community, where some of the most significant damage occurred along its nearly 6 mile long path. Several wood-framed homes experienced total roof loss and partial wall collapse due to estimated winds of 110 to 120 mph. One resident who was trapped under his fallen roof was extracted and transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

The strong tornado then intersected the Manatee Creek subdivision where nearly 30 wood-framed homes experienced major damage in the form of roof loss and/or wall collapse from winds up to 120 mph. Finally, the circulation persisted into Rocky Point, where the eastern side of the subdivision experienced more sporadic damage in the roof of partial roof loss, soffit damage, and downed trees and power lines. Based on radar data, the tornado likely became a waterspout as it moved into the Intracoastal where it dissipated shortly thereafter.

Wider weather episode

Hurricane Milton moved ashore the west-central Florida coast as a category 3 hurricane on Oct 9 around 1930EST. The system continued slowly in an east-northeast trajectory across central Florida, becoming a category 1 hurricane before emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Canaveral. The outer rainbands of Milton overspread the Florida peninsula earlier in the day, leading to a prolific tornado outbreak across Okeechobee, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Osceola and Brevard counties with over 19 confirmed tornadoes within a 4-hour period. Milton's slow forward motion produced very heavy rainfall, with significant urban and street flooding particularly near and north of the center's track, as well as a significant river flood event along the St. Johns. Considerable tree damage and some structural damage occurred due to the system's tropical storm force winds, and hurricane force wind gusts, particularly near and north of the track of the center.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (27.0803, -80.1932)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1220125. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.