EF2 tornado, Okeechobee Co Arpt to Basinger, Florida, October 9, 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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF2

Date

October 9, 2024

Touchdown

2:04 PM EDT (18:04 UTC)

Lifted

2:20 PM EDT (18:20 UTC)

On the ground

16 minutes

Path length

8.5 miles (13.7 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

2

Property damage

$3.5 million

County

Okeechobee County

Touchdown point

27.282, -80.880

Lift-off point

27.382, -80.958

Record number

2410091204-01

32 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS MLB and NWS TBW, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EFU. The highest wind the damage implies is 115 mph.

• Several oaks snapped and uprooted with eyewitnesses confirming a tornado moved through the area.
• Completely decimated double wide. Was strapped down.
• Some shifting of roof line as well
• One beside it was fine no damage

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

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.

A tornado impacted portions of southwest Okeechobee County, where it produced widespread EF-1 and at least some EF-2 damage. Based on radar analysis and public reports, the tornado touched down south of US-98 just northwest of the Okeechobee County Airport. ||The first damage encountered during a NWS Storm Survey was on the path was on US-98 where a manufactured home was lifted from its foundation, stripped from the tie downs, and thrown northward nearly 200 yards while being completely destroyed. Two individuals were injured at this location. A steel/metal barn was damaged on its south side; metal was torn off and the steel structure was bent and twisted. Here, the damage was consistent with both EF-1 and EF-2 winds of 90 - 115 mph.||Along US-98, agricultural irrigation equipment was flipped over. A home suffered partial roof loss and the remaining roof appeared shifted to the north based on columns facing the road. A palm tree was also snapped in half at this property. Along NW 67th Ln, another mobile home was destroyed and a small farm outbuilding collapsed. Maximum winds on this portion of the track ranged from 95 - 110 mph, or EF-1 strength.||From there, the tornado continued into Dixie Ranch Acres. Block by block, multiple homes suffered roof and soffit damage, and many outbuildings were either damaged or destroyed. At least one home lost over 20% of its roof. Substantial tree damage occurred, with many losing large branches. There was at least one instance of a hardwood tree being snapped only feet from the ground. EF-1 winds occurred throughout the path in Dixie Ranch Acres, with winds of 90 - 110 mph.||Beyond this location, no damage was noted as the tornado moved into open pasture. However, based on dual-polarimetric radar data, the tornado continued for approximately 4 miles to the northwest before lifting near NW 160th St.

Based on radar analysis and public video provided to the NWS, the tornado touched down immediately south of SR-70. At this location, irrigation equipment was flipped over, indicative of EF-0 winds of 75 - 85 mph.||The tornado continued northeast to NE 120th St., where an outbuilding suffered damage to its metal roof; the roof was not torn off. Nearby hardwood trees were toppled and large branches were broken off, including at the entrance to Sunshine Grove (the site of the Okeechobee Music Festival). The damage in this area was consistent with EF-0 to EF-1 winds of 75 to 95 mph.||From there, the tornado traveled over mainly undeveloped land on approach to 45th Terrace and NE 224th St. Though no damage was observed due to inaccessibility, dual polarimetric radar indicates that the tornado remained on the ground during this period. Along 45th Terrace, the tornado passed over a portion of a commercial farm. At least two small homes suffered significant roof damage, and a semi truck and attached flatbed trailer were turned on its side. Again, this damage was of EF-0 or EF-1 |intensity.||The most significant damage on its path occurred at the Pine Creek Sporting Club, which is north of NE 224th St. Here, three well-constructed wood frame outbuildings were destroyed. Two of the buildings were at least partially open-front. On two of the buildings, heavy duty posts were sheared off at the ground as the roof gave way. On the third building, some of the posts were ripped out of the ground as the roof was lifted. Debris was strewn a large distance northward from these locations. According to an employee, one UTV was tossed into a live oak tree. The nearby cabins were spared of all but minor damage. Many hardwood trees were either uprooted or large branches snapped. It was concluded that high-end EF-1 damage occurred at the Pine Creek Sporting Club, with winds from 100 - 110 mph.||The tornado continued northwest, passing over open pasture before reaching a stand of hardwood trees along US-441. Many trees along US-441 were snapped; at least a couple were snapped down at the trunk. This was also consistent with EF-1 winds. According to dual polarimetric radar data, the tornado continued a short distance |northwest from this location before lifting to the south of Fort Drum.

A tornado occurred, which produced localized EF-1 and EF-2 damage. Based on radar analysis and public video provided to the local emergency manager, the tornado touched down southeast of C & M Rucks Dairy.||While the tornado started over open pasture, damage occurred as it moved over C & M Rucks Dairy on NW 144th Ave. Here, a large steel barn with metal siding suffered a partial collapse on the southeast side, with at least 50% of the building destroyed.|Nearby power poles and lines were downed, and a power pole was snapped. The building damage was consistent with EF-2 winds of 105 to 115 mph. The path width was quite narrow, evidenced by nearby buildings which were untouched.||The tornado moved northwest from there, with sheet metal strewn along and west of NW 203rd St. There was no damage reported north of NW 240th St. Based on this and dual-polarimetric radar data, the tornado most likely lifted immediately south of NW 240th St over open pasture.

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

20 minutes of warning. NWS MLB issued a tornado warning for this county at 17:44 UTC, 20 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 12:20 UTC and running to 01:00 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 16:23 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 Melbourne radar (KMLB), 91 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:05 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

43 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.