EF0 Tornado — St. Lucie, Florida

2024-10-09 · near Port St Lucie, St. Lucie, Florida

Event narrative

This tornado, which initially touched down in Martin County near the I-95 and SW Martin Highway interchange, moved north into St. Lucie County into the Rosser Reserve subdivision, numerous residential structures experienced minor to moderate damage in the form of damage to shingles, soffits, and gutters from winds of EF-0 intensity.

The system subsequently impacted the Hidden Oaks community where a home experienced major damage when part of its roof was peeled back due to winds of up to 85 mph. The circulation appeared to have weakened as it continued north into St. Lucie West with little more than large branches and a few downed trees noted. A few homes in the Torino area of Port St. Lucie had mainly minor damage to roofs and siding. The tornado appears to have lifted as it approached the I-95 and Midway Interchange.

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 → (27.2060, -80.4020)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221438. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.