Tropical Storm — Orange, Florida

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

Event narrative

Orange County Emergency Management reported scattered instances of downed trees and powerlines due to Hurricane Milton's winds which surface observations indicate peaked between 55 to 75 mph, locally as high as 87 mph. Rainfall totals ranged between 4 to 8 inches and locally up to 10 inches, which did lead to substantial urban, street, and low-lying type flooding. A preliminary damage assessment reported a total of

188 structures affected, 79 with minor damage, and 32 with major damage. A cumulative cost assessment is not available at this time.

There were five known indirect storm-related fatalities reported by the medical examiner in Orange County. A 67-year-old male was electrocuted when he came in contact with a downed high voltage electrical wire while cleaning yard debris. A 60-year-old female evacuee died in her hotel room after experiencing stress following her evacuation. A 41-year-old male died from a heart attack while cleaning up yard debris after the storm. A 98-year-old male fell and died in his home during a power outage caused by the storm. A 67-year-old male died after falling off of his roof while cleaning up storm debris.

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 1221738. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.