Why tornadoes form within hurricanes — and how climate change could make it more common

The extreme weather associated with Hurricane Milton has included tornadoes that have killed at least five in Florida’s St. Lucie County, a phenomenon known to occur as such storms move inland.

Tornadoes are more commonly associated with areas less vulnerable to coastal storms, like the southern and midwestern U.S. But they can form once a hurricane transitions from sea to land and its winds encounter greater friction.

Between 1994 and 2014, two out of three tornadoes that...