Because of Hurricane Ian: 11 tornadoes confirmed in South Florida

As forecast, Hurricane Ian brought lots of tornadic activity across South Florida. In fact, during the evening of Sept 27 and early morning of Sept 28th, there were 49 tornado warnings issued by the local National Weather Service office in South Florida.

It was confirmed that it was a busy night as Hurricane Ian’s rain bands swept over South Florida, producing tornadic storms. Out of these 49 warnings, 11 tornadoes were confirmed.

The strongest tornado happened near Kings Point just to the northwest of Boca Raton in Palm Beach County. The tornado took the roof of a section of an apartment complex, trees were ripped up, and some cars were flipped. Winds were estimated between 111 and 135 mph.

Another tornado in Palm Beach County, this one moved over Wellington with estimated winds of 90 mph. It traveled more than 8 miles. Some houses suffered roof damage and there were many tree branches and a barn lost half of its roof. This tornado was classified EF-1.

Across populated areas of Broward County, there were two confirmed tornadoes. An EF 1 tornado, which started in Pembroke Pines, with estimated winds of 90 mph traveled for about 6 miles. It caused damage to about 20 general aviation aircraft, damaged a fence, and caused minor damage to hangar doors and structures. During its path, the tornado broke many large tree branches as well as caused minor roof damage to two houses. A supermarket had its front door broken off.

The EF 0 tornado, starting in Hollywood, had estimated peak winds of 70 mph and it traveled over a 7.5-mile stretch. The tornado broke off large tree branches and uprooted several trees just West of the Turnpike. This tornado had a well-defined debris signature on the Doppler radar.

Tornadoes commonly spin up in the right quadrants, in rain bands of a hurricane. These tornadoes are usually in the lower end of the Enhanced Fujita scale but can still cause substantial damage.