Tornado Hits Downtown Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday

This tornado hit downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL on Saturday causing power flashes and damage to areas near Federal Highway and Los Olas Boulevard. It was associated with a line of heavy rain that had been crossing much of the state for most of the day. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed the tornado, saying they received multiple videos and phone calls regarding the severe storm. Meteorologists from NWS Miami will survey the damage to determine the strength of the tornado.

This storm was in addition to a couple of funnel clouds across South Florida on Saturday. Video on social media showed what appeared to be a funnel cloud near Moore Haven, Florida around 1:30 p.m. ET near Rt. 78. Another report of a funnel cloud came in from St. Lucie County about an hour later from an off-duty NWS meteorologist. Both reports did not specifically say the funnel clouds touched down as tornadoes.

Additional pockets of heavy rain will develop across South Florida through Sunday. This will mean it will be a little bit cloudy for your beach day in Florida on Sunday (especially in the southern part of the state)! Another one to two inches of rain, isolated amounts up to three inches, will be possible in South Florida through the end of the weekend.

Additional severe storms will return to Florida this week on Monday and Tuesday. Thereafter on Tuesday, additional severe weather will be likely across the Southeast United States. You can read more about this weather story on our website here.