It was one of dozens of tornadoes spawned by Milton that hit South Florida far from where the storm made landfall near Sarasota. One of them killed at least six people in Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce, about an hour's drive north from Wellington.

Hurricane Milton brought an earlier-than-expected dose of chaos before it made landfall this week, as supercell thunderstorms — which feature rotating updrafts and can produce tornadoes — raced across the state.

The National Weather Service said at least three of the tornadoes were rated EF-3, meaning that they had wind speeds between 135 and 165 mph.