The destructive twisters surprised anxious Florida residents, even as Hurricane Milton’s eye still loomed. Hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, a spate of unusually strong and long-lived tornadoes touched down across the state, flipping tractor-trailers and ripping off roofs.

Hurricane Milton's damage extended beyond the storm surge and powerful winds. The system also spurred strong tornadoes.

One of the worst tornado outbreaks occurred during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, which caused a multi-day outbreak of 127 tornadoes. The deadliest hurricane-spawned tornado was in October 1964, when 22 people died in Larose, Louisiana, during a twister from Hurricane Hilda.