NWS confirms 3 more tornadoes on Treasure Coast; see details and map with trails

On Wednesday, it was confirmed that three more tornadoes hit the Treasure Coast last week.

That brings the total to at least eight different tornadoes — six confirmed and two still under investigation — set to hit the three-county area from Hurricane Milton’s outer rainbands on Oct. 9, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Officials inventory the damage every day.

According to preliminary reports released Wednesday:

• The EF1 tornado traveled nearly seven miles in Fort Pierce

• The EF1 tornado traveled nearly 12 miles from Port St. Lucie to Fort Pierce

• The EF0 tornado traveled more than 18 miles from Palm City to Port St. Lucie

Officials already confirmed that the deadly tornado in northern St. Lucie County near Fort Pierce and southeastern Indian River County in Vero Beach was an EF3 tornado. However, it was rated EF2 when six people were killed at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village.

They also confirmed that two tornadoes touched down in Martin County – an EF1 tornado in Port Salerno and an EF2 tornado in Hobe Sound and Port Salerno – and found evidence of two different tornadoes in downtown Vero Beach.

EF1 tornado in Fort Pierce

According to the report, the EF1 tornado lasted 10 minutes with an estimated peak wind of 93 mph. The maximum width was 150 meters, or 1½ football fields.

Emergency call logs show the tornado likely touched down north of Fort Pierce, near the Belcher Canal. Aside from vegetative damage, a few buildings had partial roof loss in the area of ​​St. Lucie Boulevard and North 25th Street.

The tornado continued northwest over the Treasure Coast International Airport, where several small aircraft were tossed around. The airport recorded a gust of 60 miles per hour at 4:21 p.m. Radar data suggests the tornado intensified as it passed over the open airfield and moved into a primarily wooded area on the north side of the facility.

As the tornado passed through residential neighborhoods, more substantial damage was found to a few homes, including those on Sparkling Pines Circle and inside the Island Pines Golf Club, where the tornado likely reached peak wind speeds of 80 to 90 miles per hour.

It continued northwest toward the Lakewood Park area of ​​northern St. Lucie County, where an EF2/EF3 tornado crossed paths about an hour later. That made it extremely difficult to distinguish the damage from the larger tornado. However, interviews with residents of Lakewood Park and Spanish Lakes indicate that the first tornado caused minor to moderate damage to homes, mainly to carports, porches and awnings. There were likely winds of 65 mph to 75 mph.

While the radar-indicated debris signal continued northward, there were no reports of significant damage north of the county line. The tornado is believed to have lifted before moving into Indian River County.

EF1 tornado in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce

The EF1 tornado lasted 14 minutes with estimated peak winds between 80 and 90 mph, the report said. The maximum width was 150 meters, or 1½ football fields.

The first indication of tornado damage was found in the Crane Landing, Sawgrass Lakes and Tulip Park subdivisions of Port St. Lucie. That included minor impacts to homes from missing shingles and soffit damage, as well as sporadic tree damage northward in communities adjacent to Florida’s Turnpike, including Cashmere Cove, Bayshore Heights, Swan Park and Northport Village. The damage was consistent with peak winds of 65-75 mph.

The tornado then crossed the Fort Pierce area, where it caused significant structural damage to a metal awning system at the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office on Midway Road. Peak winds were estimated at about 90 mph, or EF1 tornado intensity.

It then appeared to weaken and likely lift as it approached the Interstate 95 interchange with Okeechobee Road.

EF0 tornado in Palm City, Port St. Lucie

According to the report, the EF0 tornado lasted 35 minutes with estimated peak winds between 75 and 80 mph. The maximum width was 200 meters, or two football fields.

The tornado touched down in a wooded area south of the I-95 interchange at Martin Highway in Palm City. Martin County Fire Rescue reported that a tractor-trailer was overturned by the tornado near mile marker 109. The tornado continued north along the highway, downing many trees along its path with estimated peak wind speeds of 75-80 miles per hour.

As the tornado moved north-northeast toward the Rosser Reserve subdivision in Port St. Lucie, many residential buildings had minor to moderate damage to shingles, eaves and gutters. It then hit the community of Hidden Oaks, where a home suffered major damage when part of its roof peeled off due to winds of up to 85 miles per hour.

The tornado appeared to weaken as it moved further north into St. Lucie West, as little more than large branches and a few fallen trees were noted. A few homes in Turin’s Port St. Lucie neighborhood had mostly minor damage to roofs and siding. The tornado appears to have lifted as it approached the I-95 interchange at Midway Road.

Tornadoes on the Treasure Coast

Here’s a look at tornado damage on the Treasure Coast surveyed so far by the National Weather Service in Melbourne, which also includes Brevard, Okeechobee and Osceola counties, in the order the tornadoes touched down in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.

Martin County-St. Lucie County (Palm City, Port St. Lucie)

St. Lucie County (Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce area)

Martin County (Port Salerno, near Stuart)

St. Lucie County (Fort Pierce)

St. Lucie County-Indian River County (near Fort Pierce, Spanish Lakes, Vero Beach)

Martin County (Hobe Sound, Port Salerno, near Stuart)

EF scale for tornadoes

The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

• EF0: 65 to 85 km/h

• EF1: 86 to 110 km/h

• EF2: 111 to 215 km/h

• EF3: 136 to 165 km/h

• EF4: 166 to 200 km/h

• EF5: More than 200 km/h

Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm’s entertainment reporter dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: NWS confirms tornadoes from Hurricane Milton in Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce