On October 15, showers streaming north from the hurricane produced heavy rain and gusts over Florida. An instruction flight out of Naval Air Station Lake City crashed shortly after takeoff east of the base, weather being cited as a likely cause. All three crewmembers were killed. In advance of the eventual landfall, three tornadoes in the hurricane's rainbands struck the state on the afternoon of October 18, causing slight damage. They touched down in the cities of Arcadia and Wauchula as well as southern Polk County. The Wauchula tornado displaced a farmhouse from its foundation, unroofed a gas station, and uprooted 75 trees. Waterspouts were also observed before the hurricane's arrival.