Florida News That Impacts You – October 14th, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Fewer than 450,000 power outages remain in Florida stemming from Hurricane Milton, with most near landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast. Power outages are slightly elevated in Martin County with just over 1% of residents still without power, while Indian River County, remains the most impacted community along the Treasure Coast with just over 4% without power.
- Tolls suspended by Governor DeSantis in advance of Hurricane Milton will remain suspended today Monday, the 14th. The suspended tolls cover much of the state, including on all western and central Florida toll roads, though Alligator Alley remains the lone roadway with suspended tolls in South Florida. Tolls are set to resume tomorrow.
- All area schools in the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast remain closed today and will resume on Tuesday following a scheduled day off in observance of Columbus Day.
- The National Weather Service has confirmed multiple EF3 tornadoes touched down on Florida’s east coast during Hurricane Milton. The tornado that ripped through Wellington, and later near Avenir where a Publix was under construction, had top winds of 140 mph. The tornado responsible for the destruction of 20 homes in the Spanish Lakes community in St. Lucie County, in addition to a storage facility for the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office and later in Vero Beach, was an EF2 and EF3 tornado while on the ground with winds of 125-135 mph. A very rare occurrence in Florida.
- Martin County has two resource operations available for members of the community negatively impacted by tornadoes spawned during Hurricane Milton. The Multi-Agency Resource Center at the Robert Morgade Library with be open daily from 10 am to 7pm through Thursday to connect residents with agencies that can provide support. Also, a state operated distribution center will be open from 10 am to 7 pm today at the Martin County Fairgrounds to provide essential items such as food, water and tarps.
- Today should be a nice day with mostly clear skies and highs in the mid 80’s -which is slightly warmer than usual for this date. The National Hurricane Center is tracking one system. A disturbance off the coast of Africa has a 40% chance of development and is one we’ll want to keep an eye on over the next week.
- Gas prices dropped a penny over the weekend and are flat with a week ago. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.10 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.26 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.13 and in Indian River County the average is $3.10 per gallon.