Mold Remediation in Port St. Lucie, FL

Laurie K. Blandford

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The first tornado confirmed on the Treasure Coast — of what will be many tornadoes here alone from Hurricane Milton — was rated an EF3 tornado with peak winds up to 155 mph.

The outbreak of tornadoes on Wednesday was unprecedented on the Treasure Coast, said Will Ulrich, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne. It was the largest outbreak of tornadoes his office has worked in its 35 years.

“This was a historic tornado outbreak in the Treasure Coast community,” Ulrich told TCPalm.

Weather officials on Friday focused on assessing the area of the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village community first because of at least six fatalities that happened there, he said.

They surveyed damage and found the tornado stayed on the ground for at least 13 miles, he said. It started south of Midway Road, hit the new warehouse on Orange Avenue near Rock Road and exited in Indian River County.

That’s “highly unusual” and “very rare” for a tornado to stay on the ground that long in Florida and from a tropical cyclone event, Ulrich said.

"It was a long-track tornado that had a large swath of EF2 damage, as well as periodic EF3 damage," Ulrich said.

EF2 damage specifically was found in the Spanish Lakes subdivision, he said, and EF3 damage to warehouses was found in the area of Orange Avenue and Rock Road.

According to the Enhanced Fujita Scale, EF2 winds are between 110 and 135 mph; EF3 winds are between 136 and 165 mph.

Along its path, the tornado damaged structures in the Creekside subdivision on Okeechobee Road, according to the NWS preliminary report. Many mobile and manufactured homes within the nearby Sunnier Palms Nudist Park and Campground suffered major damage or were destroyed.

It continued north-northeast over rural portions of St. Lucie County, parallel to Kings Highway, where it then strengthened to an EF3 tornado with peak winds up to 155 mph, according to the report. Two large warehouses on Orange Avenue had major damage with greater than half of the structure collapsed.

The tornado then traveled north through rural areas near Kings Highway, resulting in occasional significant structural damage and numerous downed trees and power lines, according to the report. It intersected subdivisions in the northern part of St. Lucie County, where multiple single-family homes in Holiday Pines and Portofino Shores near Lakewood Park experienced significant damage, then likely continued as an EF2 tornado with peak winds estimated between 110 mph and 125 mph.

The most prolific and extensive damage from the event was found in Spanish Lake Country Club Village, according to the report. Many mobile and manufactured homes were destroyed along the western edge of the community, where the tornado produced high-end EF2 winds between 125 mph and 135 mph, according to the report. An initial survey showed over 20 homes were tossed, even flipped, from their foundations.

Despite the extensive damage to the manufactured homes, nearly all concrete block structures in the community experienced relatively minor or moderate damage, according to the report.

"That's just one of what will end up being several tornadoes that impacted St. Lucie County," Ulrich said.

Ulrich expected to confirm more tornadoes in St. Lucie County, plus other tornadoes in Martin and Indian River counties, as officials continued to work Saturday and Sunday to assess damage and determine each tornado’s pattern and strength.

The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings across the state, starting Wednesday morning and ending later that evening. That's the most ever issued in Florida in a single day, he said.

The NWS in Melbourne alone issued 42 tornado warnings for its coverage area, which includes Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Brevard and Okeechobee counties.

That's the second-most ever issued by the Melbourne office after Hurricane Irma in 2017 with 51 tornado warnings, Ulrich said. However, that storm spawned mostly EF1 tornadoes and a stray EF2 tornado — but no EF3 tornado.

Officials suspect at least 10 tornadoes touched down and caused damage across the five counties, said Cassie Leahy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne.

After conducting respective field surveys, they confirmed an EF1 tornado hit Cocoa Beach, to the north of the Treasure Coast, and an EF3 hit Palm Beach Gardens, to the south of the area. The Enhanced Fujita Scale begins at 0 and peaks at 5.

The highest wind gust reported across the Treasure Coast was 84 mph at 2:10 a.m. Thursday at Vero Beach Regional Airport, said Leahy, well after the Wednesday afternoon outbreak of suspected tornadoes.

“We had the tornadoes out ahead of the storm,” Leahy said, “and then we had the gusty winds from the storm, too.”

Treasure Coast peak wind gusts

Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures, including volunteer weather observers. Not all data listed is considered official.

Indian River County peak wind gusts

St. Lucie County peak wind gusts

Martin County peak wind gusts

Treasure Coast rainfall totals

Rainfall amounts on the Treasure Coast were fairly normal before they started to increase Tuesday because of the approaching storm, which then skewed the total to be above normal for the time period of Oct. 1-10, Leahy said.

The measurements were taken at different times on Thursday morning, reflecting total rainfall for the previous 48 hours. No official data was available for Stuart, but the NWS had a breakdown of unofficial sites in each county.

Vero Beach rainfall totals

Fort Pierce rainfall totals

Indian River County rainfall totals

St. Lucie County rainfall totals

Martin County rainfall totals

Source: National Weather Service in Melbourne

Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.

This article is sponsored by Valencia at Riverland, a 55+ community in Port St. Lucie that offers an abundance of activities and amenities designed for the ultimate active adult lifestyle. Learn more…

According to results from my recent reader survey, cost of living is the #1 topic my readers want to hear more about.

I already have an in-depth article on the cost of living in The Villages, which is of course Florida and the world's most popular retirement community.

But based on this recent feedback I want to take a closer look at the cost of living in some other popular Florida retirement cities and I'm starting with Port St. Lucie.

Let's take a closer look!

Home Prices

The first thing most of you will do just before or the moment you move to Florida is to buy a house.

According to data from FloridaRealtors.org, the average sales price for a home in Florida in 2023 was $527,324. That was up from $513,131 in 2022.

Property Taxes

The next big chunk of change you'll drop while living the Florida retirement dream will be for property taxes.

St. Lucie County comes in with a property tax rate of about 22 mils per thousand.

I go over the entire Florida property tax formula in my book, but to keep things simple here, this means that for every $1,000 of assessed value, you'll be paying about $22.

So let's say your home is assessed for $400,000 the math would be 400 x $22 = $8,800 per year, or about $733 a month.

Fortunately, for those of you planning to live here full-time or at least long enough to claim residency, Florida has some pretty generous homestead exemptions that can reduce your property taxes and keep yearly increases in check.

Again, that's a topic for another day, but you can read more about it in The Florida Retirement Handbook.

Other Costs

The website BestPlaces.net is one of my favorite go-to resources for in-depth data about various cities, and they've looked at the overall cost of living in Port St. Lucie to include other costs like healthcare, groceries, transportation, utilities, and other necessities.

They found that overall Port St. Lucie is about 4.4% less expensive than the state average cost of living, and about 1.4% less than the national average cost of living.

All in all, if cost of living is one of your main concerns when moving to Florida, you could do a lot worse than Port St. Lucie.

Where to Retire in Port St. Lucie

Valencia Parc at Riverland is the newest 55+ community in Port St. Lucie. Valencia Parc at Riverland brings together GL Homes' famous 55+ resort-style living within the amazing 4,000-acre master-planned community of Riverland to create a Florida lifestyle that's second to none!

In this new community, you'll find a million ways to have fun with everything connected through miles of eco-friendly greenways without ever having to get in your car. Walk or ride your golf cart to all the amenities right within your own neighborhood and to nearby shops and restaurants or enjoy a car ride to spend the perfect day at the beach.

You can request more information from the developer right here:

This article is sponsored by Valencia at Riverland, a 55+ community in Port St. Lucie that offers an abundance of activities and amenities designed for the ultimate active adult lifestyle. Learn more…

Located a little more than halfway from Daytona Beach to Miami, Port St. Lucie offers a more relaxed feel than its much larger coastal counterparts, but it does so without asking residents to concede many of the same amenities!

Getting There

Port St. Lucie is located on Florida's east coast, right off I-95 and Florida's Turnpike, so getting there by car is a breeze.

If you are flying down, Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) is about 40 miles away and probably the best bet for most people. Depending on what airlines service your area, you might also want to check out Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) which is about 60 miles away.

Cost of Living in Port St. Lucie

The cost of living in Port St. Lucie is about 1% below the national average, and it is actually about 4% lower than the average cost of living in Florida.

One major factor in an area's overall cost of living is home prices and, at least for now, Port St. Lucie has some of the most attractive home pricing in the state, at least when it comes to places you'd actually want to retire.

Port St. Lucie Healthcare

The largest hospital here is HCA Florida St. Lucie Hospital, a 222-bed hospital that has been serving Florida's Treasure Coast community for more than 30 years. This facility offers a full range of services, including 24/7 emergency care in their “senior-friendly” emergency room. Another great option is the just slightly smaller 177- bed Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital on the west side of town which is actually where more of the 55+ communities are in Port St. Lucie.

Port St. Lucie Weather

Here’s a look at the average low and high temperatures in Port St. Lucie throughout the year:

Golf in Port St. Lucie

Port St. Lucie might just be the ideal location for people who love the game of golf! Here you will find 54 holes of golf at the PGA Golf Club, and more than a dozen other courses in the area.

Mets Spring Training Baseball

Another reason that Port St. Lucie is such a popular location is that the New York Mets call it home from February to March every year for their spring training. Coming out to see the big league squad during spring training can be an awesome experience, but residents also have the option to watch the Mets’ high class-A minor league affiliate play here in Port St. Lucie throughout the summer!

Port St. Lucie Area Beaches

As far as beach access is concerned, Port St. Lucie residents can either go north to Fort Pierce, or south to Jensen Beach. Hutchinson Island sits in between them. All in all, St. Lucie County has 21 miles of beaches. The county claims to have more public beach access points per square mile than any other coastal community in Florida.

With the exception of the Florida State Park beaches, all beaches in St. Lucie are free admission and free parking and many of them have amenities like bathrooms, pavilions, dune walkovers, and more.

History & Culture

While golf and baseball tend to take precedence in the Port St. Lucie area, there is no shortage of culture and history here either! The area contains attractions like the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, a museum dedicated to the history of the US Navy SEALs, the Hallstrom Planetarium, and the A.E. Backus Gallery and Museum. There are also a plethora of cultural events hosted as the Port St. Lucie Civic Center every year!

Where to Retire in Port St. Lucie

Retirees have several fantastic 55+ options to consider in Port St. Lucie, but one of the newest ones is Valencia at Riverland:

Valencia Parc at Riverland, Port St. Lucie's newest 55+ community on Florida's East Coast, is the latest addition to Riverland's master-plan community layout. Valencia Parc offers an abundance of activities and amenities designed for the ultimate active adult lifestyle.

Check out Valencia Parc's 51,000 sq. ft. Wellness & Fitness center, featuring world-class facilities unlike any other. Enjoy tennis and pickleball courts at the 24-acre Sports & Racquet club, while a state-of-the-art gym offers top-tier equipment and instructor-led fitness classes. If you are looking to explore the arts, the Arts & Culture center at Riverland provides a range of different classes from painting to cooking, each sure to bring out your inner creativity. Connecting residents throughout Riverland are scenic greenways and the exclusive Paseo roadway, reserved for golf carts, making transportation convenient and enjoyable within the 4,000-acre master-planned community.

Florida House District 84 incumbent Dana Trabulsy beat Democratic challenger Andi Poli to win her third term in office, winning 58% of the vote.

Trabulsy will continue to represent most of St. Lucie County, including Fort Pierce and part of Port St. Lucie.

She first won as a political newcomer in 2020 after she turned the seat from blue to red and was reelected in 2022. Trabulsy is a Tampa native who grew up near Atlanta, and she first moved to Fort Pierce in 1991. Before running for office, her background was in marketing and owning an online advertising firm.

Florida elections results:Complete but unofficial returns

Indian River County:Complete but unofficial elections results

St. Lucie County:Complete but unofficial elections results

What are Trabulsy's top issues?

When Trabulsy reflects on her time in office, one of her crowning achievements is a bill regarding inmate medical care for St. Lucie County. The law caps the amount the county pays when inmates receive medical care at outside hospitals. She believes this bill could be her legacy if it sets a precedent for the state, Trabulsy said in a pre-election interview with TCPalm.

Under the law, the county could have at least $11 million to be spent elsewhere starting this year, she said.

Another top issue for Trabulsy is education. One area she focused on in her previous terms were chronic absenteeism. Some schools have a 68% rate of kids missing more than 10% of school. In her new term, she plans to direct time and resources toward finding out why so many students aren't in the classroom.

Also included in her education agenda is school safety. After she toured Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, she worked on a school safety bill to address things like unlocked doors and authorizing more guardian programs.

“These simple best practices being put into law, even though sometimes a little inconvenient, it’s saving lives,” Trabulsy said.

Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at jack.lemnus@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.

This article is sponsored by Valencia at Riverland, a 55+ community in Port St. Lucie that offers an abundance of activities and amenities designed for the ultimate active adult lifestyle. Learn more…

Located right in the heart of Florida's “Treasure Coast,” Port St. Lucie is best known for being the Spring Training home of the New York Mets. It is also a popular golf destination thanks to the world-class PGA Village Resort.

But there is much more to Port St. Lucie than golf and baseball. This small-town community has the authentic “Old Florida” look and feel that many retirees are looking for. It also offers up a wide range of outdoor activities and some truly outstanding dining options.

If you are thinking about spending a few days in Port St. Lucie, we have put together the perfect itinerary to let you experience all that this Treasure Coast paradise has to offer.

Day One – Cubans, Sailing, Pork Alentejana, and Craft Beer

One of the first things that everyone should do upon arrival in Port St. Lucie is head straight over to Babalu's Cuban Cafe for a quick bite to eat. The Cuban sandwiches are outstanding here, but you'll also want to get a box of croquettes and some cafe con leche to enjoy throughout the rest of your day.

Following lunch, we're heading out on the St. Lucie River with Treasure Coast Sailing Adventures. Their afternoon tour will have you hoisting the sails on “Lily” and taking in the sights of Port St. Lucie from out on the water.

For dinner on our first night in town, we are going to Fernando's Dockside Grille. This Mediterranean and Portuguese restaurant offers authentic dishes like Pork Alentejana, but they also serve up classics like Shrimp Scampi and Chicken Marsala for diners that aren't feeling adventurous.

After dinner, we're taking a quick Uber ride over to Side Door Brewing Company Taproom for a quick nightcap. There are usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 different craft beers on tap here, so you shouldn't have any problem finding something that is right for your palate.

Day Two – Golf, Tacos, Gardens, and Peruvian Cuisine

Our second day in Port St. Lucie is going to kick off with a choice between hitting the links and checking out the beautiful Savannah's Reserve State Park. Golfers will want to schedule early tee times at the PGA Village Resort while non-golfers will be heading over to see one of the most beautiful state parks in all of Florida.

Lunch today is going to be served at Taco Dive, which bills itself as “Not Your Average Hole in the Wall.” After seeing some of the creative tacos on the menu here, you will most certainly agree.

Our next stop on day two will be the stunningly beautiful Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens. With ten different themed gardens on the property, it won't take long for you to see why this is one of the most popular attractions in all of Port St. Lucie.

We're going to step outside the box and try something a little more adventurous for dinner on our second night in town. Machu Picchu Restaurant is a tiny little place that is a local favorite known for their delicious Peruvian food. Everything on the menu is outstanding, but make sure that you get the ceviche!

Day Three – Beaches, Breakfast, and Shopping

It wouldn't feel like a trip to Port St. Lucie without a casual stroll on the beach, so we are going to start our last day in town with a trip to one of the many public beaches along the 21-mile stretch of coastline. Surfside Park, Waveland Beach, and Walton Rocks Beach are all great options for a relaxing morning at the beach.

Once we are finished enjoying the sand and the sun, we're heading over to Keke's Breakfast Cafe for one of the best diner-style brunches in town. Whether you are in the mood for waffles, pancakes, stuffed French toast, or omelets, Keke's is the perfect place for breakfast.

Before heading out of town, you might want to pick up some souvenirs to remember your time in Port St. Lucie. The best place to do that is The Landing at Tradition.

Want to stay forever?

Valencia at Riverland is the newest 55+ community on Florida’s East Coast. Located in Port St. Lucie, Valencia at Riverland brings together GL Homes’ famous 55+ resort-style living with an amazing master site plan to create a Florida lifestyle that’s second-to-none! At this new community, you’ll find a million ways to have fun. Walk to nearby shops and restaurants, spend the day at the beach or simply enjoy all the amenities right within your own neighborhood.

Want to learn more? Request more information right here:

Final Thoughts

Port St. Lucie is known for embracing that “Old Florida” feel, and everything about the lifestyle here is relaxing.

If you are looking for a great place to enjoy the beach and the water with a little bit of golf and some excellent dining, don't hesitate to book your 48 hours in Port St. Lucie soon!