Unrated tornado, Jay Arpt to Munson, Florida, May 10, 2024

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 mph

   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. Unratedthis tornado

   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

Unrated

Date

May 10, 2024

Touchdown

3:42 AM CDT (08:42 UTC)

Lifted

3:46 AM CDT (08:46 UTC)

On the ground

4 minutes

Path length

4.5 miles (7.2 km)

Path width

30 yards (27 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Santa Rosa County

Touchdown point

30.824, -87.136

Lift-off point

30.805, -87.064

Record number

2405100242-01

46 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MOB, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 120 mph.

• Power lines snapped at the base a few feet from the ground.
• Several power poles snapped at the base. Metal roofing from a small barn lifted and blown between 100-200 yards. Debris blown and laying in the same direction.
• More power lines snapped. Large tree uprooted.
• 2 or 3 power poles snapped or leaning in a divergent pattern.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Two storm complexes moved across southeastern Mississippi, southwestern Alabama, and into the Florida Panhandle during the early morning hours of 5/10 producing destructive straight-line winds and multiple tornadoes.

After thorough review of available high resolution Planet satellite imagery, it was determined the EF2 tornado that ground survey crew assessed in Munson began much earlier. The tornado began south of Highway 4 to the west of Berrydale where a persistent narrow path of significant tree damage was evident on Planet imagery. This narrow swath continued to be evident in the forest south of Berrydale near Highway 4. Once the tornado passed Highway 87 N it likely intensified significantly as deforestation extent became significant and the tornado turned more to the southeast. After its southeast jog it turned back to the east reaching Highway 4 where ground survey crew initially assessed the tornado. The tornado continued along State Highway 4 about 3 miles west northwest of Munson where pine trees were snapped, and power lines were downed in a convergent pattern. The tornado peaked in intensity at an estimated 115 mph (EF2) over Munson where numerous pine trees were snapped in a convergent pattern in a swath about 450 yards wide. The tornado then took a slight jog to the east-southeast as it essentially paralleled State Highway 4 east of Munson with numerous pine and oak trees snapped on both sides of the road. As the tornado continued east of Munson across the Blackwater River State Forest, it became a broader multivortex with several prominent sub-vortices rotating about the main tornado vortex. Snaps continued into Okaloosa County Florida where the tornado is estimated to have lifted to the northwest of Baker between Highway 4 West and Sherman Kennedy Road. This survey was able to be completed with the assistance of NASA SPoRT, NASAMSFC, NASA CSDA and the NASA Disasters Program providing high resolution Planet satellite imagery. Without the availability of this remote sensing imagery, the true path length, width, and track of this tornado would not have been able to be determined.

A new EF-U tornado has been discovered via high resolution Planet satellite imagery from the May 10th tornado event. A radar tornado debris signature was present which necessitated the review of available satellite imagery to confirm the existence of this tornado. The tornado began near Highway 89 just northeast of Chumuckla and tracked east-southeast towards Highway 87 N. The tornado likely lifted just prior to the highway as the damage path evident on satellite imagery ends just prior to the highway. Once higher resolution imagery becomes available, the tornado intensity may be able to be assessed. This survey was able to be completed with the assistance of NASA SPoRT, NASAMSFC, NASA CSDA and the NASA Disasters Program providing high resolution Planet satellite imagery. Without the availability of this remote sensing imagery, the true path length, width, and track of this tornado would not have been able to be determined.

A new EF-U tornado has been discovered via high resolution Planet satellite imagery from the May 10th tornado event. A radar tornado debris signature was present which necessitated the review of available satellite imagery to confirm the existence of this tornado. The tornado began east of Paul Barnes Road and solely remained in dense forest, tracking southeast of three quarters of a mile. The tornado lifted midway between Paul Barnes Road and Three Notch Trail. Once higher resolution imagery becomes available, the tornado intensity may be able to be assessed.||This survey was able to be completed with the assistance of NASA SPoRT, NASAMSFC, NASA CSDA and the NASA Disasters Program providing high resolution Planet satellite imagery. Without the availability of this remote sensing imagery, the true path length, width, and track of this tornado would not have been able to be determined.

A new EF-U tornado has been discovered via high resolution Planet satellite imagery from the May 10th tornado event. A radar tornado debris signature was present which necessitated the review of available satellite imagery to confirm the existence of this tornado. The tornado began north of Red Rock Road and just east of Will Sexton Road in forested areas. The tornado tracked east-southeast eventually crossing Red Rock Road at the intersection of Pleasant Home Church Road and Bryant Bridge Road. The tornado lifted shortly after this point. Once higher resolution imagery becomes available, the tornado intensity may be able to be assessed.||This survey was able to be completed with the assistance of NASA SPoRT, NASAMSFC, NASA CSDA and the NASA Disasters Program providing high resolution Planet satellite imagery. Without the availability of this remote sensing imagery, the true path length, width, and track of this tornado would not have been able to be determined.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 06:56 UTC and running to 10:07 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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:57 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.

Whiting Field Nas-N. (NSE), 13 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Mobile radar (KMOB), 110 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 08:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

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 2024 tornado in FloridaEvery tornado in Florida since 1950Warnings in force in Florida nowThe forecast where you are

12 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.