It could be seen from highways and home, but fortunately was not in a heavily populated area. NBC6’s Hatzel Vela reports.
South Florida will be under sporadic tornado warnings this Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Milton. See the latest watches and warnings on our live blog here.
So far, there have been two tornado touchdowns west of U.S. 27 and north of Alligator Alley moving north. Preliminarily, there may have been another in Collier County.
In the event of a tornado warning:
- The National Weather Service urges residents to take cover.
- Move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building.
- Avoid windows.
- If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.
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Why hurricanes increase the threat of tornadoes
Hurricanes are most known for the wind, surge and rain threats that come with them. But there is another very common threat that arrives in the outer rain bands–tornadoes.
Tornadoes are typically found on the eastern side of the hurricane, and in fact it is known as the strongest side, or "dirty" side, of the system.
Local
In South Florida, it is common to see waterspouts, but tropical tornadoes are formed with the elevated wind shear that comes as the outer band, known as squall lines, move onshore.
The outer bands shoot off and away from the center of circulation, and they are moving quickly. As they move onshore, the wind at the surface begins to slow down. But higher in the atmosphere, the wind remains strong.
This contrast is known as wind shear – a change in wind speed (or direction) at different heights in the sky. This will create quick, but frequent, spin-up tornadoes.
The change in direction comes as there is a natural counterclockwise spin from the hurricane itself, but the outer bands are moving away from the center, causing a slightly different direction of those winds.
These are typically very short-lived and weak compared to the large supercell tornadoes that come from single rotating thunderstorms.
