NWS Confirms Two Tornadoes Touched Down in Fort Lauderdale

Two tornadoes touched down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday, causing mostly minor damage despite moving through heavily populated areas.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Miami confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday afternoon, both being rated EF-0, the lowest rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale. One tornado, according to the NWS, moved through downtown Fort Lauderdale, causing mostly minor tree damage, and it had estimated maximum winds of about 65 miles-per-hour (MPH). Another one moved through the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport with maximum winds of about 84 MPH, causing damage to a jet bridge and FexEx storage facilities.

Strong winds tore through the southwest corner of Palm Beach County as well at the Lion Country Safari, but these winds were determined to be caused by a ‘gustnado’ and not a tornado.

According to the Storm Prediction Center’s (SPC) 25 year average, Florida averages around 66 tornadoes a year. The state usually gets the most tornadoes during June, when summertime, sea breeze convergence afternoon thunderstorms typically become daily.

The forecast brings more storms back into the region late this weekend.

Stay with WeatherNation through the rest of severe weather season.

For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi