Before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 9, it spawned a tornado outbreak that left multiple people dead and caused widespread damage.
Deaths were reported in St. Lucie County on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, but local authorities did not specify how many residents were killed, the Associated Press reported.
While tornadoes aren’t uncommon before and during hurricanes, scientists told the AP that the Florida twisters’ ferocity was unusual.
On Wednesday, some people on social media shared a dramatic video of twin tornadoes and claimed the twisters were spawned by Hurricane Milton.
“Tornadoes are everywhere ahead of Hurricane Milton. Surreal footage,” one of the viral posts says.
THE QUESTION
Does this viral video show tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida?
THE SOURCES
- InVid and RevEye, video and photo forensics tools
- Original videos shared on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by storm chaser Ricky Forbes
- YouTube video of Pilger twin tornadoes dated June 16, 2014
- The National Weather Service (NWS)
- Report published by the Flatwater Free Press in June 2022
THE ANSWER
No, this viral video doesn’t show tornadoes caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida. It was taken more than a decade ago in northeast Nebraska.
WHAT WE FOUND
The viral video doesn’t show twin tornadoes that were spawned by Hurricane Milton in Florida. It was actually taken in 2014 in northeast Nebraska.
Using footage forensic tools InVid and RevEye, VERIFY was able to find the original video shared by storm chaser Ricky Forbes on three different social media platforms.
In his Facebook and Instagram captions, Forbes said the video captures the “terrifying and tragic day of the Pilger, Nebraska, twin EF4 tornadoes in 2014.”
Another person who posted a YouTube video showing a different view of the same tornadoes says it was taken on June 16, 2014.
VERIFY compared Forbes’ video to the viral video that circulated on social media ahead of Hurricane Milton and found that the landmarks in both match.
For example, in the original video that Forbes shared, a large building that appears to be a barn sits next to a smaller structure. Those same buildings are seen in the viral video. The tornadoes also look identical in both videos.
The twin tornadoes were among five that came from a supercell thunderstorm and tore across northeast Nebraska on June 16, 2014. Tornadoes that come from a supercell thunderstorm are the most common and often the most dangerous, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory says.
According to the National Weather Service, the Pilger twin tornadoes were rated as violent (EF-4) on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. That scale goes up to EF-5.
The twin tornadoes claimed two lives and destroyed dozens of homes in the Pilger area, according to a June 2022 report published by the Flatwater Free Press, a Nebraska news outlet.
During a devastating natural disaster like a hurricane, it can be easy to be duped by misinformation online. That’s why VERIFY is here to help.
We created this guide to fact-checking online claims for yourself. You can also email us at questions@verifythis.com.
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