2017 Florida tornado outbreak

The 2017 Florida Tornado Outbreak was a very unusual tornado outbreak across the state of Florida that occurred on May 23, 2017. The EF5 that hit Mt. Dora, Florida was first tornado of such intensity in the state; it killed 245 of 12,534 residents. The tornado was 3/4 of a mile (1.2 km) wide and tracked across the ground for 7.2 miles (11.6 km). The Lake and Golf Realty subdivision of the city was literally wiped off the face of the earth, with all 524 homes in the subdivision destroyed.

Meteorological Synopsis
In the early morning hours of May 23, an unseasonably low pressure system had stalled out over the northeastern portion of Florida, forming a dry line that divided a cold front of air in the west from warm, moist Atlantic air in the east. The previous day, mesoscale convective complex had moved off the coast of South Carolina and began to dissipate, generating an outflow boundary oriented from the northeast to the southwest, causing the movement of the supercells and tornadoes later on to be in the southwest. Conditions prior to the outbreak were low wind shear and high instability, making the series of tornadoes that day very unusual.

Notable tornadoes
EF5 Mt. Dora tornado

Initially a weak, pencil-like tornado upon touchdown in Eustis, the funnel rapidly intensified into a violent 3/4-mile-wide multi-vortex storm at around 3:37 pm EDT. The first intense damage occurred six minutes later as a line of 13 homes on Britt road were swept away, and an orchid nursery was demolished as well. The tornado reached its peak width as it struck the Lake and Golf Realty subdivision of Mt. Dora as a slow-moving wedge tornado, completely destroying the neighborhood. The tornado produced extreme ground scouring, as the earth at and around the Lake and Golf Realty subdivision was scoured out to a depth of 22 in (55.88 cm), reducing lush fields of grass and trees to wide expanses of mud. A couple miles worth of asphalt were torn from the roads in the damage path. Over 1,000 structures were completely destroyed by the tornado and hundreds of vehicles were rendered unrecognizable after being thrown great distances, some more than half a mile. Some of the vehicles were pulverized into many pieces and strewn across fields, and others were simply never found. The vehicles that remained relatively intact were sandblasted and completely caked with mud and grass. Telephone poles in the area were snapped off at the base and splintered, and trees in the area were completely shredded and debarked. Many of the homes in the tornado's path were fairly new and well-constructed and bolted to their foundations, but the tornado left only the slab foundations, and there was virtually no debris left throughout most of the damage path. The debris from the destroyed homes was finely granulated into small fragments, and scattered for long distances across the area. The tornado also picked up large amounts of loose soil as it deeply scoured the ground, producing a sandblasting effect on the houses and their occupants. The tornado's slow forward movement combined with its extreme intensity were likely the main factors as to why the damage it produced was so remarkably intense. Overall, were 245 human fatalities and over 400 injuries from this tornado.

EF3 Clermont tornado Around the same time as the Mt. Dora EF5, another strong tornado formed about 20 miles to the south-southwest. Forming in the Ferndale Preserve, the tornado initially caused widespread EF0 to EF1 damage. The tornado grazed the westernmost parts of Montverde before hitting the La Finca Stables, killing several horses and crossing the Florida Turnpike, striking the southeast portions of Minneola, causing sporadic EF2 damage. The tornado then crossed into Clermont, striking many well-built homes, causing high-end EF2 damage in a few instances. Three were killed in this area. The funnel exited the residential area and damaged a small addition across Citrus Tower Blvd before striking the Clermont Pediatrics, Superior Residences of Clermont, and the Clermont Town Center plaza in succession, causing more high-end EF2 damage. It then crossed FL-50 and struck another plaza, directly hitting an AT&T store and ripping the roof of the store off entirely, indicating EF3 damage. The tornado also caused minimal EF1 damage to the Lowe's right next to the plaza. The tornado passed over Wilma Lake before directly striking the Epic Theatres of Clermont, causing EF3 damage to the plaza, the collapse of several external walls and severe damage to the roof of the theater was noted. Eight people were killed in the theater. The tornado pressed south-southwest, causing EF1 damage to a BJ's as it moved across the Clermont Crossings parking lot, mangling and throwing many vehicles considerable distances. It then moved into the South Lake subdivision, causing widespread damage, with some instances of EF3 damage visible; one person was killed in this area. The tornado continued on into the Orange Mountain addition, causing EF1-EF0 damage as it began to weaken. The tornado eventually moved out over Lake Louisa and dissipated after traveling over the lake for nearly half a mile. In total, the tornado killed 12 people, injured over 200, caused over $1 billion in damages, and traveled for 9.5 miles.

EF4 Bradenton tornado A little over two hours after the Mt. Dora and Clermont tornadoes, another strong tornado formed in Sarasota bay. The tornado rapidly intensified to EF3 strength, causing damage to a marina on shore and many homes in the Bayshore Gardens subdivision. The tornado struck the Trailer Estates several minutes later, causing dramatic damage to the area because of the trailers, many of which were completely demolished and swept away. Exiting the subdivision, the tornado further strengthened to EF4 intensity as it struck a shopping plaza, severely damaging the buildings before crossing 14th Street W (State Highway 41) and directly hitting a Quality Inn hotel, causing extreme damage to the building's internal frame. It continued into a housing addition, demolishing many of the homes there, some becoming nothing more than a pile of debris. The tornado then tracked across the Sara Bay Country Club gulf course, scouring grass from the ground while doing so. The tornado damaged many businesses that included condos and apartment homes, as well as two 7-Elevens, a bank and a trucking plant as it closely paralleled Whitfield Avenue, causing mostly EF3 damage with some of the buildings being completely destroyed, indicating EF4 damage. A C&M Road Builders facility was struck, where heavy equipment was mangled and thrown considerable distances, some more than 200 yards. The tornado then moved through multiple subdivisions, damaging hundreds of homes as it began to narrow and weaken. It then crossed the I-75 and struck Lakewood Ranch, causing EF1 to EF0 damage as it sharply turned to the northeast and dissipated after traveling 10.63 miles with a maximum width of 440 yards.