South Florida

Report Details Powerful Tornados That Touched Down in South Florida From Ian

Reports of wind damage and flipped planes quickly came in and it turns out there were in fact two separate tornadoes that touched down in South Florida

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South Florida saw its fair share of severe weather this past week with a rash of tornado warnings Tuesday night from Hurricane Ian.

The warnings came as Ian was less than 200 miles south of Fort Myers and making its final approach, putting Miami-Dade and Broward firmly in what's called the right-front quadrant of the storm, an area notorious for tornado touchdowns.

Reports of wind damage and flipped planes quickly came in and it turns out there were in fact two separate tornadoes that touched down in South Florida.

The first tornado touched down Tuesday night at 7:18 PM EDT in Pembroke Pines, the National Weather Service said in a new report.

The tornado was rated an EF-1 with estimated peak winds of 90 mph with a path length of 5.7 miles and path width of 150 yards. The tornado dissipated near Cooper City at 7:25 PM EDT.

"A tornado touched down at North Perry Airport (HWO), causing EF-1 damage to 20 general aviation aircraft, including several which flipped over, damage to 50 feet of fencing, and minor damage to hangar doors and structures," the National Weather Service survey details said.

The tornado crossed Pines Boulevard near the University Drive intersection, passing over the College Plaza and Pembroke Commons shopping centers and causing mainly EF-0 damage to signs and trees. It then continued moving northwest into the Pasadena Lakes neighborhood where it intensified into the high-end EF-0 range, with many large tree branches broken as well as minor roof damage to two houses.

The tornado caused EF-1 damage to a Publix at the corner of Sheridan Street and Pine Island Road where the front glass sliding doors were broken off their hinges. It continued northwest through Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City, uprooting a large tree near the corner of Palm Avenue and Griffin Road before lifting just north of Griffin Road.

Tornadoes touched down in Broward County, unleashing damage throughout the area, including flipping over small planes and uprooting trees. NBC 6's Tony Pipitone reports

The second tornado occurred at 7:51 PM EDT in Hollywood. This tornado was rated an EF-0 with peak winds of 70 mph with a path length of 7.5 miles and a path width of 75 yards. The tornado dissipated near Davie at 8:07 PM EDT.

“A tornado touched down in the 4800 block of Jefferson Street in Hollywood, breaking off large tree branches. A well-defined tornado debris signature (TDS) was observed on doppler radar as the tornado moved NW across portions of Hollywood, crossing the Florida Turnpike near Stirling Road," the National Weather Service said. "Trees were uprooted west of the Turnpike near and south of the Broward College central campus in Davie, before lifting near the intersection of University Drive and I-595 in Davie.”

The tornado shift shifted north by Wednesday and Thursday.

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