Martin County - June 13, 2024: The National Weather Service (NWS) in Melbourne has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Hobe Sound Wednesday morning uprooting trees, scattering tree limbs, and damaging a few homes and businesses along a 1.7 mile stretch, 500 yards wide.
Martin County public safety personnel responded to numerous reports of damaged structures and downed trees. Access to Jupiter Island was cut-off for a time until recovery crews could clear Bridge Road from the trees that were blown down across the roadway.
There have been no reported injuries.
According to the NWS Damage Report, the tornado touched down in a wooded area to the west of US-1 around 10:37 AM, very near the Island Mall shopping plaza. The system crossed US-1 where it continued to produced a swath of mainly vegetative damage, with numerous trees felled within the parking lot of a second shopping plaza. The circulation moved east toward A1A where additional damage to softwood and hardwood trees was noted in the vicinity of Hobe Sound Elementary School.
The most notable damage was along Bridge Road just before where the road crosses the Indian River Lagoon. Here, a total of 20 to 25 large ficus trees were toppled or uprooted, as a result of wind gusts that peaked between 85 to 95 mph. The tornado moved over the Indian River Lagoon and into Jupiter Island where more trees were felled from peak winds of 75 to 85 mph.
Finally, the circulation moved into the Atlantic Ocean where it briefly became a waterspout before dissipating.
The vast majority of damage related to this tornado was confined to vegetation, most notably hardwood and softwood trees. Only minor structural damage, including a home with torn shingles and a grocery store with limited roof damage, was noted during the survey.
The NWS damage survey team classified the tornado as an EF-1 with maximum winds between 86 and 110 MPH. That is the second weakest tornado strength on the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. EF-1 wind speeds will down trees and cause roof and structural damage to homes and businesses.
The NWS is the only federal agency with authority to provide 'official' tornado EF Scale ratings. The goal is assign an EF Scale category based on the highest wind speed that occurred within the damage path.
Public Information Statement - National Weather Service Melbourne - 841 PM EDT Wed Jun 12
NWS Damage Survey for Hobe Sound and Jupiter Island Tornado
- Rating: EF-1
- Estimated Peak Wind: 85 - 95 mph
- Path Length /statute/: 1.7 miles
- Path Width /maximum/: 500 yards
- Fatalities: 0
- Injuries: 0
Start Date: 06/12/2024
Start Time: 10:37 AM
Start Location: Hobe Sound, FL
Start Lat/Lon: 27.0590, -80.1412
End Date: 06/12/2024
End Time: 10:44 AM
End Location: Jupiter Island, FL
End Lat/Lon: 27.0646, -80.1136