Milton’s terrible twisters: Outbreak in Florida killed at least 5, leveled buildings

A deadly and unprecedented wave of tornadoes swirled across Florida ahead of the arrival of Category 3 Hurricane Milton, which crossed the state from Sarasota to the Space Coast Wednesday evening.

A series of twisters that struck St. Lucie County left at least five dead and, in a display of their power, ripped apart a large steel building owned by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department.

Officials have not yet identified the deceased, but family members told the New York Times three of the victims were Sandra MacDonald, 84; Alejandro Alonso, 66; and Mary Grace Viramontez, 70.

Tornadoes are a concern during every land-falling hurricane, particularly across the northeast quadrant of the storm. But Florida saw a record number of warnings ahead of powerful Milton.

The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings Wednesday afternoon and evening. The Miami office alone issued a record 55 tornado warnings, beating a previous record of 49 during Category 4 Hurricane Ian two years ago.

That’s the second-most warnings issued in a single day for any state in the U.S., following an outbreak on April 27, 2011 in Alabama that spawned 134 warnings, according to Iowa State University records. That doubles Florida’s previous single-day record for tornado warnings — 69 issued during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Researchers said some of the confirmed Florida twisters are likely to be rated at EF3 “and perhaps higher.” Tornadoes are rated on a 0 to 5 scale based on estimated wind speeds. An EF3 would have 3-second sustained gusts of anywhere from 136 to 165 mph.

“The approach angle of the Hurricane to Florida, arrival during peak daytime heating, and unusually cold air aloft created a primed environment for tornadoes,” researchers wrote on a web post about the outbreak .

The process of confirming actual tornado touchdowns will take some time. But several have been confirmed, including two that touched down in St. Lucie County, destroying several neighborhoods, ripping the roof off a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office facility and killing five people across the county.

St. Lucie County Spokesman Erick Gill confirmed some of the deaths to the Herald Thursday morning and said the storms did “significant damage.” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson upped the total found dead to five in an afternoon press conference.

In response, the county opened additional shelters to house people displaced by the tornadoes.

Other tornadoes captured on camera crossed I-75 near the Miccosukee Service Plaza in western Broward County. In the Avenir neighborhood of Palm Beach Gardens, tornadic winds flung a dumpster into the roof of a home.

The NWS Miami office said it had preliminary tracks for seven tornadoes in South Florida, including one in west Miami-Dade.

“Over the coming days, survey teams will be out assessing damage for EF rating purposes and track adjustments. We’ll make the results public as we complete them,” forecasters said.

By Thursday afternoon, the NWS Miami office confirmed that the tornado in Palm Beach Gardens was an EF3 with estimated peak winds around 140 mph.

As of 6 a.m. Thursday, more than 35 tornadoes had been confirmed, Kathryn Prociv, a meteorologist for NBC News, posted on Twitter .

Prociv noted that no tropical system has ever produced an EF4 tornado, but recent hurricanes Beryl, Debbie and Helene all produced EF3 tornadoes.

The top tornado-producing storms on record include 2004’s Hurricane Ivan, with 118 tornadoes, 1967’s Hurricane Beulah with 115 tornadoes and 2004’s Hurricane Frances with 103 tornadoes. Hurricane Beryl, earlier this year, took the number 5 spot with 65 tornadoes stretching from Texas to upstate New York.

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