EF2 Tornado — Polk, Florida

2019-10-18 · near (lal)lakeland Muni A, Polk, Florida

Event narrative

A long, continuous path of damage was found in western Polk County from a tornado, causing extensive EF-2 damage. An NWS survey and subsequent Civil Air Patrol aerial survey found numerous homes and businesses with damage to roofs, fascia, awnings, and screen enclosures, as well as fences and trees knocked down. One home was completely destroyed. Kathleen Middle School sustained significant roof damage, with rain water and sprinkler systems causing additional water damage. A camper was lifted into a residence near the middle school. The tornado crossed Interstate 4, overturning a tractor trailer. No injuries were reported.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Nestor developed in the Gulf of Mexico and moved northeast, making landfall on St. Vincent Island in the Florida Panhandle on the afternoon of the 19th. The bulk of the convection developed on the eastern and southeastern side of the storm, with a couple bands of showers and storms moving into the west coast of the Florida Peninsula. These bands of storms produced 3 confirmed tornadoes, including one EF-2 tornado in Polk County. Otherwise, straight line winds were minimal in west central and southwest Florida and caused little impacts.

The highest storm total rainfall in west central and southwest Florida was 7.77 inches in Baskin in Pinellas County, with other areas in Pinellas and parts of Hillsborough County seeing 5 to 6 inches, causing minor nuisance flooding.

The highest storm surge in the area was 3.6 feet at Cedar Key. Taking into account the astronomical tide cycle, this resulted in a peak water level of 2.27 feet MHHW at 5:18 AM EDT on the 19th.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (27.9820, -82.0475)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 853690. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.