EF1 tornado, Hucomer, Florida, December 10, 2012

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

EF1

Date

December 10, 2012

Touchdown

5:25 PM EST (22:25 UTC)

Lifted

5:26 PM EST (22:26 UTC)

On the ground

1 minutes

Path length

0.6 miles (1.0 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

2

Property damage

$1.7 million

County

Volusia County

Touchdown point

28.911, -80.868

Lift-off point

28.919, -80.862

Record number

1212101625-01

Very moist southwest winds developed across east-central Florida well in advance of a cold front and associated upper level disturbance. Strong daytime heating, combined with moderate low-level wind shear, resulted in numerous strong storms, two of which produced tornadoes. The first tornado began as a waterspout over Lake Apoka, then crossed the northeast shore of the lake and remained on the ground for a short distance. Although the waterspout/tornado affected a rural area, several citizens witnessed the event. The second tornado impacted a mobile home park and adjacent wooded area in Edgewater, then became a waterspout as it crossed the intracoastal river, before moving across the barrier island as a tornado. Significant damage occurred at the mobile home park, with only minor damage on the barrier island. Several funnel clouds were also observed.

The tornado began at US Highway 1 in Edgewater and continued northeast through the Terra Mar Village Mobile Home Park to Alice Street and Jones Fish Camp Road, then moved onto the intracoastal river as a waterspout (see 1726 LST waterspout episode). A total of 62 homes were damaged (17 with minor damage and 45 with major damage), impacting carports, awnings, roofs, power poles and lines, and numerous trees. Over 100 trees (many very large) between the mobile home park and the intracoastal river were snapped near the ground or uprooted. Metal from the mobile homes were carried far downstream. The frame of a mobile home was wrapped several times around the base of a tree. The tornado produced high-end EF0 damage within the mobile home park, then strengthened to a high-end EF1 tornado with a widening damage swath along Jones Fish Camp Road and upon approach to the intracoastal waterway. There were two very minor injuries, both treated at the scene. Maximum winds estimated at 90-110 mph. A motorist travelling on US Highway 1 videotaped the tornado crossing the highway in front of him, with debris evident within the circulation as it reached the mobile home park. Several other citizens and a public safety official also witnessed the tornado. DI3 DOD4 EXP; DI3 DOD8 LB-EXP; DI27 DOD4 EXP; DI28 DOD4 EXP.

The tornado which impacted Edgewater from 1725-1726 LST, continued northeast across the intracoastal waterway (1726-1729 LST), then moved across the narrow barrier island at Bethune Beach as a small, weak tornado. Several power lines were downed by the tornado along Highway A1A and small debris from palm trees and shrubs were observed along the path. A citizen observed the tornado cross the barrier island, from the second story of his home just to the north. Maximum winds estimated at 55-65 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

26 minutes of warning. NWS MLB issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:59 UTC, 26 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:45 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a General Thunderstorms Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 19:45 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

6 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.