Milton's Tornadoes Were One for the Record Books

It has been over a week since Hurricane Milton roared across the Florida peninsula. Since that time, meteorologists have been studying the prolific tornado outbreak that came along with the Category 3 storm. Here is a look at why the tornadic activity associated with Milton is considered to be historic.

Looking Back at Milton's Tornado Production

It is not unusual for hurricanes to trigger a great amount of tornadic activity. All of the tornadoes associated with Milton spun up in the hours before landfall. Although the twisters created as the storm inched closer to Florida were historic by some measurements, the storm did not rank in the top five of hurricane-generated tornadic outbreaks in the U.S.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), there were 126 tornado warnings issued across Florida on Wednesday, October 9. This was good enough for a new state record. Of the 45 total tornado reports received, the NWS has formally surveyed 36 of them as of late this week. These surveys will continue in the days ahead, providing an even clearer picture of the true scope of this outbreak. This means that the numbers could fluctuate if surveyors find more damage or if some fields of damage are determined to be from the same twister.

When looking back through history, Hurricane Ivan of 2004 produced the highest number of tornadoes when it churned out 118 across nine states after initially coming ashore in Alabama. Other storms in the top 5 for tornadic activity include Hurricane Frances in 2004, Hurricane Rita in 2005, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, and the recent Hurricane Beryl in 2024.

While Milton did not crack the top five for tornadic production by a hurricane, the twisters birthed that day were atypically strong. Most tornadoes as the result of a hurricane are typically weak. However, the NWS has confirmed that at least three of the tornadoes from Milton rated as EF3s as defined by the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

As a point of comparison, hurricanes Beryl, Ivan, Frances, and Rita each only produced one tornado at this level. Hurricane Beulah spawned eight tornadoes clocking in as EF3s in Texas. There has never been a confirmed EF4 or EF5 tornado from a hurricane.