The National Weather Service in Tampa continues to survey tornado damage across Lee and Charlotte counties. Alongside the already-confirmed Matlacha tornado, two new tornadoes were added in Charlotte county: El Jobean and Babcock Wildlife Area.
The most notable addition was the Fort Myers tornado has been confirmed to have traveled ACROSS the Caloosahatchee River into North Fort Myers, and was on the ground for upwards of 11 miles.
There are still additional surveys planned for early next week that may cause further adjustments to existing tracks and the overall tornado count.
FORT MYERS/ NORTH FORT MYERS TORNADO:
The new path length is over 11 miles, extending well into North Fort Myers. The peak wind speed for the Fort Myers tornado was also adjusted upward, with damage to a warehouse facility in North Fort Myers justifying a peak speed of 132 MPH.
The tornado is estimated to have begun a few blocks to the south of Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers with some scattered tree and minor roof damage. The strongest damage in Fort Myers was then noted to the north- northwest across Colonial Blvd. along Orangewood Ave. where a large portion of a roof was torn off of a home and the wall in the garage area collapsed. Roof damage was also noted across the street from this point, but was already being repaired. The track continued to the north-northwest across the Fort Myers Country Club, with snapped and uprooted trees noted along the track as well as other minor to moderate damage to homes. The tornado then crossed the Caloosahatchee River.
Continuing into North Fort Myers, the tornado weakened, but continued to produce scattered tree damage before damaging several structures in a manufactured home community. Continuing northward, the tornado then intensified once more, and the strongest damage was noted to a warehouse structure on the north side of Pine Island Rd. As the tornado continued on a N-NW track, passing through several additional neighborhoods, scattered tree and roof damage continued to be noted. The tornado then passed through another manufactured home community,producing significant damage to several structures before lifting near U.S. 41 at approximately 12:41PM.
BABCOCK AREA TORNADO:
A second brief tornado rated an EF-0, with winds of 85 mph, touched down from the same supercell that produced the longer-lived Fort Myers/North Fort Myers tornado. A debris signature was noted on local radar in the vicinity, several trees were uprooted, one structure was damaged, and a camper was overturned. This tornado lasted for two minutes and was on the ground for 0.51 miles.
EL JOBEAN TORNADO:
A brief tornado that lasted just two minutes began as a waterspout in the mouth of the Myakka River near Charlotte Harbor at 12:41pm on October 9.
As the parent cell pivoted inland, the tornado moved onshore in El Jobean, producing EF-1 damage in the small community along the river. It was on the ground for a total of 2.58 miles. After moving through, the tornado quickly dissipated.
