The May 10, 2024 Tallahassee Tornadoes

An intense squall line crossed the Big Bend on the morning of Friday, May 10, 2024, and three of its tornadoes tracked across Leon County and central Tallahassee.

The NWS Tallahassee past events page says this round of storms spawned at least 5 tornadoes, including several in Leon County and the Tallahassee area, and lists Leon County with 3. Its May 10, 2024 tornado survey gives the Leon County tornadoes ratings of EF-2, EF-2 and EF-1, with on-the-ground times between 6:38 a.m. and 7:14 a.m. EDT. The survey tables also list three more tornadoes that morning outside Leon County, in Madison, Jefferson and Taylor counties, Houston County, Alabama, and Walton County, so the office's overview figure of at least five and its six survey entries are both on the record.

The weather service wrote that the damage met or exceeded that of Hermine, Michael and Idalia combined according to one City of Tallahassee metric, broken power poles, with numerous trees down across the city and extensive damage to the city's utility structures along the tornado paths. In a May 10 release, Leon County said the worst of the system arrived at around 6:50 a.m. and that it had closed all public-facing county offices that day to move staff to recovery and damage assessment.

Two tornadoes crossed Tallahassee from the west and merged at the Capital City Country Club, while the third ran through southern Leon County past Woodville.

Tornado 1 touched down near Spooner Road in eastern Gadsden County, crossed the Ochlockonee River into western Leon County just southwest of U.S. 90, and damaged a hotel and shopping center near Capital Circle Northwest and U.S. 90, according to the NWS survey. Its peak came in a couple of spots between Blountstown Highway and Cactus Street, where the survey found a swath with nearly every pine snapped about 75 feet above the ground. It then crossed the Lively Technical College and Tallahassee Community College campuses, Pensacola Street and the southwest corner of the Florida State University campus before running along Gaines Street, through Railroad Square and downtown, and on through Cascades Park, Myers Park and Country Club Estates.

Tornado 2 touched down at Williams Landing in Lake Talquin State Park, paralleled Blountstown Highway through the Norfleet neighborhood, crossed Seminole Manor and Mabry Manor and reached Florida A&M University with EF-1 damage. Once the two tracks converged at the country club golf course it became the dominant circulation; the survey placed its EF-2 damage from Country Club Drive through the Indian Head Acres subdivisions. It reached its widest point as it crossed Monroe Street, then continued past Old St. Augustine Road and Southwood Plantation Road into Jefferson County.

The table carries a small conflict inside the survey itself: the Tornado 3 narrative says it touched down at about 6:50 a.m. near Lake Talquin Highway, while its summary table lists a start of 6:42 a.m. After crossing Lake Talquin and the Apalachicola National Forest, it produced high-end EF-1 damage near US-319 and Oak Ridge Road, passed just north of Woodville Middle School and lifted just east of Old Plank Road; at 31.69 miles it had the longest path of the three.

The northern tornado struck the FSU Flying High Circus tent, Dick Howser Stadium, Gaines Street, Railroad Square, Cascades Park and Myers Park, and the southern one hit FAMU and Sabal Palm Elementary School.

On the Florida State University campus, the National Weather Service found numerous trees down on the southwestern part of campus, the tent housing the FSU Flying High Circus destroyed and the outfield fence at Dick Howser Stadium severely damaged. Along Gaines Street a few businesses were damaged and a construction crane collapsed. At Railroad Square several warehouse buildings were severely damaged along with the roof of the railroad depot, and trees were snapped and uprooted downtown just south of the Capitol near the state Department of Education building.

Farther east, the same survey recorded damage at Cascades Park and significant tree damage in Myers Park. On the southern track, falling trees and wind damaged Sabal Palm Elementary School, and at FAMU the tornado snapped numerous trees and caused roof damage to at least two university buildings. Earlier on the west side, the survey noted a mobile home park on Emily Loop where several homes were damaged by falling trees, and intense EF-2 tree damage along Cactus Drive.

On May 10 the City of Tallahassee reported more than 80,000 power outages, over half of its electric customers, with transmission damage affecting 11 substations.

The City of Tallahassee reported that day that winds of 80 to 100 mph had moved through the city, that damage assessment crews were counting broken poles, and that early estimates put the count at more than 100. It warned of prolonged outages while the grid was rebuilt and said mutual aid crews from 20 utilities, including from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina, were arriving to work around the clock alongside city crews.

City services bent around the cleanup. Solid waste collection was suspended on May 10, all Parks and Recreation youth and adult activities that day were canceled, Wade Wehunt Pool and Jake Gaither Golf Course closed for the day, Hilaman Golf Course closed until further notice, and the city said all StarMetro routes were affected by road blockages. On May 14 the city's debris guidance referred to the impact from the three tornadoes, asked residents to separate storm debris at the curb, and temporarily lifted the regular size limits on debris piles.

Help for Tallahassee and Leon County came in stages: a state of emergency on May 10, a state bridge loan program for businesses, and a federal major disaster declaration, DR-4794-FL, on June 17, 2024.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-94 on May 10, 2024, placing 12 counties, Leon among them, under a state of emergency. On May 13, Executive Order 24-95 widened it to 15 counties, adding Escambia, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa. In a release the City of Tallahassee reposted on May 14, the state activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program with $2 million for businesses hurt by the tornadoes, offering zero-interest loans of up to $50,000 through July 13, 2024, or until funds ran out. FEMA lists the federal disaster as Florida Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes (DR-4794-FL), with an incident period of May 10, 2024, and a declaration date of June 17, 2024; its page now says the period to apply for individual assistance has closed.

Homeowners and renters in Tallahassee and Leon County affected by the storms could apply for FEMA disaster assistance, and the state and FEMA opened a Disaster Recovery Center at the LeRoy Collins Leon County Library on West Park Avenue. That notice gave Aug. 19, 2024, as the deadline to apply with FEMA.

In the unincorporated county, Leon County began curbside vegetative debris collection on May 17, its May 16 release said, on both public and private roads, with free residential drop-off at the Solid Waste Management Facility and Rural Waste Service Centers. By its June 21 release, county crews had collected more than 5,400 loads of debris, more than 270,000 cubic yards, and a final pass was set for June 24 through July 12, 2024.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the NWS Tallahassee tornado survey and events list, FEMA's DR-4794 page, the governor's executive orders, and the City of Tallahassee and Leon County storm releases.