Topline
Officials across Florida said there were at least 10 deaths tied to Hurricane Milton and the tornadoes that accompanied it as they surveyed the damage in their areas on Thursday—though Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis cautioned there was not yet an official count.
Waves crash along St. Pete Pier in St. Petersburg, Florida, before Hurricane Milton made landfall … [+]
Key Facts
DeSantis said there were at least five confirmed deaths in St. Lucie County, Florida—which he said had the worst tornado damage in the state—at a press conference shortly after noon EDT on Thursday, but he noted there was not yet an official statewide death toll.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed to The New York Times the five deaths in the county were caused by a tornado.
Volusia County Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood confirmed to NBC News three people died in the county, saying one “died after a tree fell” and the other two were from unknown causes.
St. Petersburg Chief of Police Anthony Holloway said in a Thursday morning press conference there were two storm-related deaths in the city, one of which was a “medical” incident and the other “was someone that was found in a park.”
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What To Watch For
An official death toll. DeSantis said he expected there could be a more complete idea of how deadly the storm was later Thursday.
Big Number
120. That’s about how many tornado warnings—which are issued after a forecaster sees a tornado on radar or one is confirmed on the ground—were reported across Florida due to Milton, Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said Thursday afternoon. Guthrie said there were around 20 to 25 radar-indicated tornadoes, but that the weather forecasting offices of the National Weather Service will need to confirm a final total.
Do Hurricanes Normally Bring Tornadoes?
Hurricanes are often accompanied by tornadoes, at least in part because of the “heat and humidity present in the atmosphere … and changes in wind direction or speed,” the Associated Press reported. But the tornadoes that came with Hurricane Milton were more intense than usual. NHC Director Michael Brennan told CNN on Thursday “the tornadoes we saw develop yesterday in Milton were really kind of supercharged compared to the typical tornadoes you see in a hurricane environment,” confirming there were more than normal and describing them as “longer living” and “more powerful.”
Key Background
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm and exiting the state off the east coast as a Category 1 storm Thursday morning. DeSantis described the storm on Thursday as “significant but … not the worst case scenario,” saying the damage from Hurricane Helene—which ravaged southern states, including Florida, in late September—was worse in many ways. Hurricane Helene killed more than 220 people, 20 of whom were in Florida, and had storm surge nearing 20 feet in some places. There were concerns about storm surge reaching 15 feet with Hurricane Milton, but officials said Thursday the storm surge ended up not being “as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”
Further Reading
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