EF2 Tornado — Martin, Florida

2024-10-09 · near Indiantown Crl T Arp, Martin, Florida

Event narrative

The tornado, which produced a large swath of EF-0 and EF-1 damage, and a small section of EF-2 damage, was one of several tornadoes to impact the area as Hurricane Milton's outer rainbands swept across the Treasure Coast. Based on radar dual polarimetric data, this tornado initially touched down in Palm Beach County.

As it moved into rural Martin County, the system intersected a few homes south of SW Kanner Hwy. A large, newer construction home, experienced major damage when nearly all of its roof was torn back and tossed onto an adjacent home. Nearby metal storage structures were also significantly damaged, indicating EF-2 winds of 115 - 125 mph. The tornado continued northward through rural Martin County where sporadic damage to vegetation and residential structures was witnessed along Citrus Blvd, producing winds ranging from 85 to 105 mph (EF-0 to EF-1). The circulation damaged several industrial buildings, including the canopy of a gas station, near SW Martin Hwy and SW 42nd Ave.

The tornado subsequently crossed Florida's Turnpike where it then entered several subdivisions before crossing into St. Lucie County, producing only minor (EF-0) damage given that most of the homes were concrete block structures.

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 → (26.9580, -80.3510)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1220126. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.