Tornado rips through Fort Lauderdale on Saturday
The National Weather Service determined an EF-0 tornado traveled 1.5 miles through Fort Lauderdale and had maximum winds of 80 mph.
Tornado rips apart boats, power lines in South Florida
A thunderstorm produced a tornado in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. Damage and power outages were reported from the twister, but there appeared to be no injuries, authorities said.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A tornado rolled through Fort Lauderdale, Florida, damaging boats and downing power lines on Saturday.
According to the National Weather Service office in Miami, officials received multiple phone calls and social media reports of a twister near Federal Highway about 5:50 p.m. EST. The NWS issued a Tornado Warning for the storm about 5 minutes before the twister was reported.
Fort Lauderdale officials said in a Facebook post that no injuries have been reported, and the damage from the storm appears to be minor.
A couple from New York was in South Florida to cheer on the Buffalo Bills when they got a Tornado Warning alert on their cellphones. Moments later, they witnessed the tornado roll through a residential area and a marina and captured the entire event on video.
"We were feeling very pleased with ourselves for missing the snow," Meghan Collins told FOX Weather. "Then, we got more than we bargained for."
Tornado rips through South Florida
A tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday afternoon. Several witnesses caught the sight on video, and there were no reported injuries.
Fort Lauderdale's mayor said that utility crews were working to restore power to the region and debris cleanup would take place on Monday and Tuesday.
An NWS team conducted a damage survey on Sunday, determining that it was an EF-0 tornado with maximum winds of 80 mph.
There were several reports of other severe weather across the Sunshine State on Saturday, including funnel clouds, a waterspout and damaging wind gusts. The highest thunderstorm wind gust that has been reported was 52 mph near Pine Island.
The storms are associated with a trailing cold front that is attached to a powerful nor’easter moving up the East Coast this weekend. The storm has created a mess of ice, snow and rain as it chugs through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
More severe weather is possible in Florida in the coming days as another powerful storm moves across the eastern half of the country.
Winter storm produces tornado in Florida
On the southern end of a winter storm, severe weather impacted Florida with a tornado spotted in Fort Lauderdale. The tornado was thought to be one of the first of the year across the country in 2024.