Tropical Storm — Inland Martin, Florida

2024-10-09 to 2024-10-10 · Inland Martin, Florida

Event narrative

Martin County Emergency Management reported a few downed trees and powerlines as a result of the wind associated with Hurricane Milton, which surface observations indicate wind gusts reached between 40 to 60 mph, and locally 70-75 mph, especially along the coast. Five tornadoes were confirmed to have affected the county. Surface observations indicate peak wind gusts generally between 40 to 60 mph, and locally 70-75 mph, especially along the coast. Rainfall totals ranged between 2 to 4 inches. A damage assessment reported a total of 278 structures affected, 88 with minor damage, 28 with major damage, and 29 destroyed, with a cumulative public, residential, and commercial loss of approximately $15.1 million, primarily due to the tornadoes that impacted the county. There are no known storm-related fatalities in Martin County as a result of Hurricane Milton.

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221458. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.