Search and rescue efforts continue after tornadoes popped up as Hurricane Milton was preparing to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed five people died in St. Lucie County — noting the hurricane spawned at least 19 twisters and as many as 116 tornado warnings across the state.
"We're grateful for the first responders who staged in the area and were ready to save lives. So far, at least 25 people have been rescued from this tornado-damaged area," DeSantis said in a statement.
NWS Miami meteorologists are currently working to survey the tornado damage in Clewiston and Lakeport in Glades and Hendry counties.
Preliminarily, they tell Fox 4 that there may be as many as three tornadoes that touched down with one being at least an EF-2. As soon as those surveys are released, we’ll let you know.
NWS Miami also surveyed the damage from a tornado in Palm Beach Gardens (Palm Beach County), and has determined it to be an EF-3 with peak winds of 140 mph.
Survey Summary:
Considerable structural damage was observed in the Avenir community in Palm Beach Gardens. The damage was observed on brand new, well-built homes and included segments of concrete block walls missing and large sections of roof removed. This tornado had a relatively long track and this preliminary rating was based on just one neighborhood which was also one of the hardest hit. This will likely require a multi-day survey to obtain the complete picture and assign a final rating.
