Home / Florida / Monroe

EF0 tornado in Monroe County, Florida

Tornado November 15, 2023 · Monroe County, Florida

EF0

Rating

0.1 mi

Path length

70 yd

Path width

$2K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 70 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A brief tornado initially developed over the

southeast edge of the Eden Pines subdivision, located over the

central portion of (the island of) Big Pine Key around 6:27 AM EST.

The relatively narrow tornado moved quickly north-northwest in

the general area framed by Lantana Lane, Buttonwood and Oleander

Drives. EF-0 damage was observed via the survey included vinyl

siding torn off a portion of a home, a couple downed and snapped

buttonwood trees, and a twisted fence. Maximum winds of 75 mph were estimated in this portion of the Eden Pines subdivision. The directional deposition

despite relatively low volume of debris strongly suggested a

tornadic circulation at the surface along a short and narrow path.

A resident heard a distinct audible rushing sound almost

immediately before tornado passage, notable due to the lack of any

observed wind damage off the path within the residential

subdivision. The timing of the original observation of wind

damage corresponded with the passage of a supercell on a northwest

path across central Big Pine Key and into Pine Channel.

The wider storm

Strong low pressure over the eastern Gulf of Mexico resulted in a slow-moving pre-frontal trough focusing heavy convective rainfall over portions of the middle and upper Florida Keys. One EF0 tornado was observed on Big Pine Key in association with a small supercell which evolved in advance of the passing squall line. In additional, strong winds associated with a convectively-induced mesoscale low pressure system over the middle and upper Florida Keys resulted in moderate to major coastal flooding near the shores of Barnes and Card Sounds.

Began near Big Coppit Is (24.6918, -81.3726).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1165342. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.