They tore open homes and ripped apart lives across south Florida.
Tornadoes were a major threat during Hurricane Milton, and dozens roared across neighborhoods like Pine Lakes in North Fort Myers and island communities like Matlacha.
The National Weather Service is investigating all tornado reports and said there have, so far, been no reported deaths associated with tornadoes.
Most of the twisters came during the middle of the day Oct. 9 (a Wednesday) and were associated with a strong band that broke away from the Milton’s eye wall and pounded south Florida.
“They’re normally in the feeder bands outside of the center of the hurricane,” said Stephen Shiveley, a meteorologist with NWS in Ruskin. “The whole hurricane is rotating, and the feeder bands are rotating, and the hurricane is causing the cells to spin. So, it’s common but to see these stronger tornadoes in hurricanes is a little more rare.”
Shiveley said one injury was reported in the Lake Placid area.
“We’re still going out and doing surveys and we’ll get more data,” Shiveley said.