At least 27 tornadoes were reported in Florida on Wednesday as Hurricane Milton loomed over the state, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The NWS is still working to confirm all of the reports, an activity that will take some time due to storm conditions.
Cumulatively, more than 125 tornado warnings were issued Wednesday by NWS offices in Tampa Bay, Melbourne and Miami. This is the most tornado warnings ever issued in a single day for the state of Florida, crushing the previous record of 69 set on September 10, 2017 (during Hurricane Irma).
A tornado in St. Lucie County proved deadly for some residents of a mobile home retirement community, county sheriff Keith Pearson said. The sheriff declined to provide an exact number of deaths, but said it was “more than one person.”
Ultimately, hundreds of homes were “completely totaled” by tornadoes in the county, Pearson said. And that was before Milton had even arrived.
Daytona Beach weather radio transmitter is off the air, National Weather Service says
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio transmitter serving seven central Florida counties is currently off the air, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida.
The Daytona Beach transmitter, operating on a frequency of 162.400 MHz, serves Lake, Brevard, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Putnam and Flagler counties, the weather service said in a post on social media early Thursday morning.
NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from National Weather Service offices across the country. The broadcasts include warnings, watches, forecasts, current weather observations and other hazard information, 24 hours a day, according to the service.
Alternate transmitters that serve the Daytona Beach listening area include: 162.475 MHz in Orlando, 162.425 MHz in Palatka, 162.500 MHz in Sumterville, 162.550 MHz in Melbourne and 162.475 MHz in Gainesville.