‘Oh my God!’: Tornado blasts Florida backyard, shatters window ahead of Milton
As of Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed that Milton spawned at least five tornadoes, with the number likely to rise as 126 Tornado Warnings were issued on Wednesday.
Watch: Tornado strikes Florida neighborhood ahead of Milton
Video shot on Wednesday shows a tornado blasting through a neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens, hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida.
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – A Florida family captured the terrifying moments a massive tornado blasted through their neighborhood in Palm Beach County on Wednesday as part of a tornado outbreak spawned by Hurricane Milton.
Footage shows the twister eviscerating palm trees and kicking up debris in the backyard of their Palm Beach Gardens home.
"Oh my God!" a woman can be heard saying off-camera.
Tornado destroys backyard in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
(Robert Hubert via Storyful / FOX Weather)
As the winds increase and radically shift direction as the tornado sweeps through, the patio door fractures.
The National Weather Service in Miami gave the tornado a preliminary rating of EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with estimated peak wind speeds of 140 mph. But the agency said their storm survey is still incomplete, and the rating may adjust as they learn more about the damage.
DEATH TOLL FROM HURRICANE MILTON RISES AS FLORIDA PICKS UP THE PIECES FROM THE STORM'S DESTRUCTION
The rating is significant, particularly as less than 1% of tornadoes produced by hurricanes are given that high of a rating, according to FOX Weather Meteorologist Stephen Morgan.
Milton spawns rare tornado outbreak
Ahead of making landfall, Hurricane Milton triggered 126 Tornado Warnings across Florida, the most warnings issued statewide in a single day. Oct. 11, 2024.
"These tornadoes were more energetic because Milton was starting the early stages of becoming a non-tropical system," Morgan said.
He noted that ahead of Milton making landfall, the jet stream was injecting energy into the hurricane. Dry air was also present, which rose and twisted. Altogether, the elements were those often seen during a tornado outbreak in the spring.
"All of these elements combined – to have that with a landfalling hurricane is just not something you see," he added.
The destruction caused by the tornado was captured by FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith, who reported from Palm Beach Gardens on Friday morning.
EF-3 tornado slams Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
The National Weather Service office in Miami confirmed that a tornado with maximum speeds of 140 mph tore through the southeast Florida community of Palm Beach Gardens on Wednesday, ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. FOX Weather Meteorologist Kendall Smith reports from Palm Beach Gardens.
She noted the power of the tornado as it tore off a motorized gate at the entrance of a neighborhood, blew furniture from a home’s living room into the backyard and showed palm trees uprooted and knocked over across pathways.
"The scenes of devastation are a lot more reminiscent as to what we’d see in the Plains," she said.
As of Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed that Milton spawned at least five tornadoes, with the number likely to rise as 126 Tornado Warnings were issued on Wednesday – the most warnings issued statewide in one day.
Combined with the tornadoes it produced, Milton has caused at least 17 deaths across Florida.