Tropical Storm — Okeechobee, Florida

2024-10-09 to 2024-10-10 · Okeechobee, Florida

Event narrative

Okeechobee County Emergency Management reported a few instances of downed trees and powerlines due to Hurricane Milton's winds which surface observations indicate peaked between 50 to 70 mph. Four tornadoes were confirmed to have affected the county. Rainfall totals were generally 1 to 3 inches. A damage assessment reported a total of 85 structures affected, 55 with minor damage, 22 with major damage, and 2 destroyed, with a cumulative public, residential, and commercial loss of approximately $5.7 million, mostly due to the tornadoes that impacted the county. There are no known storm-related fatalities in Okeechobee 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 1221728. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.