Florida Braces for Possible Tornadoes Amid Gulf Coast Storm

Parts of northern and central Florida have been warned that tornadoes could develop later Wednesday and on Thursday as a Gulf Coast storm whips through the state.

The storm has been generating since early October but hasn’t developed into a strong enough system to garner a name. It traveled north in the Gulf of Mexico before moving along the Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Weather experts also previously warned residents in southern parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia that their areas on Wednesday could receive several inches of rain and face a risk of flash flooding.

By Wednesday afternoon, rain had begun falling in the Florida Panhandle. The National Weather Service’s (NWS’) Tallahassee office said the intensity and scope of the rain “should slowly increase” Wednesday evening, with “severe” weather not expected until Wednesday night.

Earlier Wednesday, Tallahassee forecasters said possible tornadoes would be one of the storm’s “main threats.” If the tornadoes did materialize, they were expected to do so Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Farther east, weather experts in Jacksonville also issued warnings about the potential for tornadoes, saying there was a “medium” chance, from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday. The NWS office in Jacksonville reminded residents that tornadoes can be tough to spot at night and urged people to ensure they have more than one way of receiving emergency alerts and other weather-related warnings.

In central Florida, the NWS warned those in the Tampa Bay area that tornadoes and waterspouts could pop up as the storm moved in. The local NWS office later issued a tornado warning for Lake Panasoffkee, Bushnell and Nobleton Wednesday afternoon. Further northeast, the Melbourne NWS office also issued a tornado warning that covered parts of Brevard and Orange counties.

Florida’s worst tornadoes tend to occur in the spring and summer months, though the “most destructive” kinds of tornadoes are “virtually nonexistent in the state,” according to Emily Powell, assistant state climatologist at Florida Climate Center. While tornadoes and waterspouts are “very common” for Florida and “can happen at any time of year,” they are least likely to occur in the winter months.

“October falls somewhere in the middle in terms of tornado frequency,” Powell told Newsweek. Tornadoes that occur this time of year “are often associated with tropical systems, which tend to form closer to land in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in October.”

Florida “also tend[s] to see stronger tornadoes during strong El Nino years,” Powell added. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the arrival of El Nino in June, which is expected to strengthen as winter approaches.