EFU Tornado — Monroe, Florida

2020-01-31 · near Highland Pt, Monroe, Florida

4.7 mi

Path length

50 yds

Path width

Event narrative

The forward-propagating component of a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) advanced onshore along the Southwest Florida coast during the late-evening hours of Friday, January 31. Embedded mesovortices intermittently strengthened while

this activity moved onshore from the Gulf waters.

One of the stronger and tighter circulations over Mainland Monroe County of South

Florida was accompanied by a well-defined Tornadic Debris Signature (TDS). This signature was characterized by a relative minimum in correlation coefficient per KAMX radar data, and corresponded with an embedded inflection in the zone of enhanced

reflectivity accompanying the QLCS that also aligned with a well-defined mesovortex. This TDS occurred over the Everglades, and was used as the foundation for this tornado report.

The lack of conclusively surveyed damage indicators precludes the delineation

of an exact damage rating. As a result, an unknown rating has been assigned to this tornado. However, the application of established research results on the aforementioned radar data -- which provides statistical estimates of tornado probabilities and wind

speeds based on WSR-88D data and environmental information -- suggests that this tornado could have been a high-end EF0, with peak wind speeds around 80 mph.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico helped to pump moist and unstable air across South Florida during the evening and nighttime hours of January 31st, and early morning of February 1st. Strong thunderstorms developed ahead of a cold front over the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and moved east across the southern Florida peninsula. These storms spawned a tornado in the Everglades of Southwest Florida, as well as gusty winds and heavy rainfall across Southeast Florida.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (25.4640, -81.1230)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 871057. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.