All three hurricanes that hit Florida in the last month spawned small, fast-moving tornadoes that toppled trees, ripped off roofs and tossed cars.
But only Ivan's caused deaths.
Seven people died when a string of tornadoes roared across the Panhandle Wednesday night, causing many of the deaths attributed to Ivan.
Ivan's tornadoes were not necessarily more powerful than those caused by hurricanes Charley or Frances, scientists said. It's unclear why people were killed this time, except that they were perhaps in more vulnerable places and less prepared.
"Sometimes, it's just bad luck," said Chris Davis, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "They probably never knew what hit them."
The Florida Panhandle was the most likely target for tornadoes during Ivan because it was in the upper right quadrant of the storm - the location of a hurricane's highest and most powerful winds.
Tornadoes, violent rotating columns of air that extend to the ground, are common during hurricanes. But they are usually smaller, weaker and quicker than the Midwestern tornadoes made famous in the movie Twister. Most tornadoes spawned by hurricanes are on the lower end of the tornado intensity scale - the Fujita scale - with winds from 40 to 157 mph.
Tornadoes generated by hurricanes may travel up to a quarter of mile and be on the ground for mere minutes. Midwestern tornadoes can move 1 to 5 miles, and can last for more than an hour.
"These are quick-hitting tornadoes," said Dan McCarthy, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. "They are quick-hitting, but can be significant."
Tornadoes usually form out of thunderstorms in the middle to outer bands of a hurricane, which can be 100 to 200 miles from the eye, when moisture combines with a change in wind direction.
Scientists said people get so fixated on where the eye will hit that they often forget that danger can lurk hundreds of miles away.
"They can catch people by surprise. There is very little time to react," said Charlie Paxton at the National Weather Service in Ruskin. "It's very difficult to see them coming. They are moving fast and wrapped in rain."
In Panama City Beach, a tornado that hit the tourist strip surprised many residents who had taken advantage of a momentary lull in the weather to stroll along the beach and enjoy the surf, despite repeated warnings from officials that tornadoes were possible.
John Martin, 84, was killed there Wednesday while checking on his daughter's real estate business with his son. Martin's son ducked into an interior room just as the tornado hit, but Martin was hit in the head when the twister exploded the business' plate glass window.
That same tornado hopscotched over Al and Martha Harris' home but threw a pine tree into the home of one of their neighbors, ripped the roof off the house of another, overturned a semitrailer and crushed their son's new car.
Al Harris, 46, said the sky was relatively calm in the hour preceding the storm. "When it's calm like that you're not really thinking about tornadoes," he said. "There wasn't a big buildup."
Nine tornadoes associated with Ivan have been reported, eight in Florida, McCarthy said. The eight occurred between 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Tornadoes that occur during a hurricane are tough to track. And after the storm passes, scientists have difficulty determining whether the hurricane or a tornado caused the damage.
Scientists don't know why some hurricanes spawn tornadoes. Davis said there is some evidence it might be related to a storm's strength, but not always.
Tropical Storm Bonnie, which hit the Panhandle in August, spawned 16 tornadoes in Florida, including some in Jacksonville. Charley, Frances and Ivan generated eight tornadoes each in Florida.
Each year about 800 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and 1,500 injuries. Most of them are from the type seen in the Midwest.
Though the smaller tornadoes are more common in Florida, the state sometimes experiences those similar to the large Midwestern twisters. A string of strong tornadoes tore through Central Florida in February 1998, killing 42 people.
Times staff writer Alisa Ulferts and researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
WHAT TO DO IN A TORNADO
Go to the interior of the lowest floor in your house, or a bathroom or closet.
Put as many walls as possible between you and the tornado.
Stay away from large, open rooms, windows and upper stories.
Take cover under something sturdy, such as a staircase or a workbench.
Mobile homes, even if tied down, offer little protection and should be abandoned.
Don't seek shelter under your home.
Vehicles are not safe.
If you are outside, try to lie flat in a ditch and put your arms over your head for protection.
Cover yourself with a blanket, pillows or cushions to soften effects of flying glass and debris.
