TornadoLookup

Home / Florida / Broward

EF0 tornado in Broward County, Florida

Tornado September 9, 2017 · Broward County, Florida

EF0
Rating
1.9 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 100 yards (0.06 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

During a NWS storm survey for Hurricane Irma evidence was found of a discontinuous track of a tornado from Fort Lauderdale Beach to Wilton Manors. Multiple trees were damaged along the path.

The wider storm

Major Hurricane Irma made landfall in Southwest Florida on Marco Island as a Category 3 hurricane around 330 PM EDT on September 10th. The storm traveled north through southwest Florida through the evening. Effects from Irma were felt across South Florida from September 9th through September 11th. Irma had reached Category 5 strength and a minimum central pressure of 914 MB east of the Bahamas, maintaining Category 5 intensity until landfall along the north coast of Cuba on September 9th. Irma made its first Florida landfall in the Lower Florida Keys early on September 10th as a Category 4 hurricane.

The strength and size of Hurricane Irma allowed for impacts to be felt across all of South Florida. Irma brought widespread wind damage, heavy rainfall and storm surge to all areas. Hurricane-force sustained wind were measured in much of Collier County, as well as far southern and inland Miami-Dade County, with the possibility of additional hurricane-force sustained wind in more isolated areas over the remainder of South Florida where widespread tropical storm force sustained wind occurred. Gusts to hurricane force were felt over all of South Florida, with the maximum measured wind gust of 142 mph in Naples in Collier County. Widespread tree damage and some structural damage occurred across all of South Florida, with most structural damage on the minor side.

Irma brought a significant storm surge on both coasts of South Florida. Storm surge of 6 to 8 feet was observed in the Everglades City and Goodland areas of Collier County, with 3 to 5 feet from Marco Island to Naples. Along the east coast, observed storm surge values of 4 to 6 feet were noted along Biscayne Bay from south of Miami to Homestead, and 2 to 4 feet elsewhere along the east coast from Key Biscayne to Palm Beach.

Hurricane Irma brought widespread rainfall and some flooding across the region. From the period between 8 AM EDT September 9th and 8 AM EDT September 11th, 8 to 15 inches of rain were measured over interior portions of Southwest Florida, with estimated amounts of 16 to 20 inches in southwestern Hendry County. This rainfall near the end of a wet summer led to significant flooding over these areas. 5 to 10 inches of rain were noted elsewhere across South Florida, with areas of minor to moderate flooding.

32 deaths were attributed to Irma in southern Florida, all but one indirect. The only direct death was an 86-year-old man who was knocked down by a gust of wind while opening the front door of his home in Broward County. Most of the deaths occurred during cleanup after the storm, as well as several as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning from misuse of generators. Initial and incomplete damage estimate across the area is estimated to be around $800 million, but in all likelihood will be much higher once damage assessments are completed. $222.5 million in damage came in from Collier County, and about $300 million from Palm Beach County. About $255 million came from the agricultural community in Miami-Dade County.

Total number of people who were at county evacuation shelters were as follows: Miami-Dade County - 31,092, Palm Beach County - 17,263, Collier County - 17,040, Broward County - 17,000, Hendry County - 3,000

Total number of customers without power were as follows: Miami-Dade County - 888,530, Broward County - 689,000, Palm Beach County- 566,240, Collier County - 197,630, Hendry County - 9,700, Glades County - 1,670.

Began near Ft Lauderdale (26.1383, -80.1039).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

4 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 722911. 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.