PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down Sunday evening in St. Lucie County, damaging about 20 to 30 homes along a 2.1-mile path.
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Will Ulrich, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service Melbourne office, announced the findings Monday morning during a press conference at Jessica Clinton Park following a damage survey of the affected areas.
The tornado, classified as a landspout, first touched down around 6:10 p.m. near Southeast Kitching Cove Lane and Southeast Morningside Boulevard, close to the Tarpon Bay Yacht Club. It produced minimal structural damage, including roof damage, soffit damage and pool enclosures lifted from their foundations.
The tornado then moved over the St. Lucie River, where it became a waterspout for approximately five to seven minutes, meandering slowly from north to south over the water before moving back onshore in the Bay St. Lucie community around 6:20 p.m.
"The strongest wind gusts likely occurred in the Bay St. Lucie community," Ulrich said, where the tornado caused numerous downed trees and large branches, along with damage to well-built homes with tile roofs from winds of 65 to 75 mph.
The tornado continued west into Port St. Lucie communities near the Southbend area, where it caused discontinuous damage including downed trees, blown-over fences, and damaged or destroyed pool screen enclosures before dissipating.
The entire event lasted approximately 14 to 15 minutes, making it unusually long for this type of tornado. Most of the damage was classified as minor, with approximately 20 to 30 percent of roof covers removed from some homes, though no homes were destroyed.
No injuries were reported from the tornado, officials confirmed.
Ulrich explained that landspouts form differently than traditional tornadoes, developing closer to the surface along the leading edge of thunderstorm updrafts rather than from mesocyclones. Residents reported it wasn't raining during the tornado itself, with heavy rain arriving only after the tornado passed through.
"This was more of boundary interactions from those daily afternoon showers and thunderstorms that we receive, and lately it has been abnormally warm," Ulrich said. "The more heat you have, the more vigorous those boundary collisions are going to be."
While landspouts are more common during summer months in Florida, any one location experiencing a tornado remains historically rare.
The National Weather Service worked alongside the City of Port St. Lucie Emergency Management and St. Lucie County Emergency Management to conduct interviews with residents and piece together the timeline of the event.
