Power Outage in Palm City, FL

In Martin County, wind gusts to tropical storm force in squalls occurred through much of the county, especially along the barrier island. Sustained winds in Martin County remained below tropical storm force as the center of Dorian remained far away to the east. Approximately 80 residents lost power for a short period, and 1271 people evacuated into shelters.

A trained spotter estimated winds gusting to 60-65 mph in Port Mayaca as a severe thunderstorm moved onshore from Lake Okeechobee. A delayed public report confirmed numerous trees were downed between Port Mayaca and the Martin/Palm Beach County line. Another report received via social media revealed powerlines down in the same area on the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.

Per reports, photos and video received from Martin County Fire Rescue, various broadcast media, and social media posts, NWS Melbourne confirmed that a very weak, short-lived tornado (landspout) occurred near the intersection of SE Geraldine Street and SE Railway Avenue in Port Salerno. The tornado, which lasted only a few seconds, was rated as EF-0 (winds near 60 mph). The landspout caused a trampoline to become airborne, where it got stuck in power lines atop a power pole.

Major Hurricane Matthew passed nearly 55 miles offshore Martin County during the late evening and early morning hours of October 6-7, producing several hours of sustained tropical storm winds and a 12-hour period of frequent wind gusts to tropical storm force, especially across the eastern third of the county. The highest sustained wind recorded at Witham Field in Stuart was 41 mph from the west at 0100LST on October 7 and the peak gust was 61 mph from the west at 0135LST. At Jensen Beach, the peak sustained wind was 52 mph at 2300LST on October 6 and the peak gust was 73 mph at 2215LST. Minor wind damage occurred to homes, mainly a result of falling trees. Isolated damage to fences, awnings and screen rooms occurred. One mobile home sustained major damage, four homes experienced minor damage and an additional 76 homes were affected in some way. During the height of the hurricane, approximately 45,000 customers were without power, or about 50% of the county. Preliminary property damage was estimated at $175,000. A total of 1,300 residents evacuated to shelters within the county. There was one indirect injury. A 47-year-old male was electrocuted when his tools hit a live power line while trimming trees in Stuart after the storm on Monday, October 10 around 0715LST. He was transported to a local hospital with severe burns.

Air traffic controllers reported a thunderstorm wind gust to 97 mph at Witham Field Airport in Stuart. The winds flipped 7 planes and damaged a total of 14 planes. The roof collapsed on the sheriff annex building. Several hangers were damaged. The storm also knocked out power to 10,000 power company customers in the arera. The local YMCA had minor roof damage as well as a building at the fairgrounds.