36 preliminary reports of tornadoes in Florida caused by Milton

Published: Updated:
tornado
Confirmed tornado on the ground norh of I-75. CREDIT: Emily Wakefield

You may have seen videos and pictures of tornadoes due to Hurricane Milton and the damage they have caused in Southwest Florida.

As of 4 a.m. Thursday, there have been 36 preliminary tornado reports in Florida sent into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by people who called in or took pictures/videos.

Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service’s three Florida offices, in Miami, Tampa, and Melbourne, had issued more than 130 tornado warnings associated with Hurricane Milton.

CREDIT: The Weather Authority

On X, WINK News Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt, posted the above picture and discussed the reported tornado warnings. Devitt said, “Worst tornado outbreak I’ve seen in Southwest Florida in a long time. You do not see wedge tornadoes in this area very often. Horrible damage and devastation from outer bands ahead of Milton.”

So far, there have been three reports in Lee County, according to NOAA.

  • Pine Island, reported by the Lee County Sheriff’s office: Tornado damage was reported in Matlacha.
  • Page Park-Pine: Social media video and images showed tornado damage to homes near Colonial Boulevard and Orangewood Avenue.
  • Southwest Fort Myers: Social media videos showed a tornado and damage near the southeast area of the Fort Myers Country Club.

There was one in Hendry County at the Hendry and Glades county line crossing U.S. 27 and moving into the Brighton Reservation.

Click here to see current reports from NOAA.

However, WINK News has collected videos and photos of tornados in other parts of southern Florida on Wednesday while Milton was off the west coast of Florida.

One of the tornados was just north of Alligator Alley in Collier County.

Another tornado was caught on camera on State Road 80 just outside of Clewiston, possibly the single report in Hendry. Watch below.

What appears to be tornado damage was documented at the Lake Fairways community in North Fort Myers.

Viewer Lacie Terell captured what seems to be a building on Harvard Court that was destroyed by a potential tornado. Watch below.

We also have a report of a potential tornado touchdown in North Fort Myers.

Meanwhile, residents in the Villas in South Fort Myers went through a possible tornado around 12 p.m. where a massive RV was seen toppled onto a Jeep.

Gary Herrera documented the damage left by a potential tornado on businesses located near Pondella Road. Watch below.

Officials will go out on Thursday to assess the damage and give an official report. However, if there isn’t substantial damage to report, there will be no confirmation of the tornado.

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