- A tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday around 6 p.m., and tornado warnings were issued throughout Broward County
- The tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale, just west of the intersection between Las Olas Boulevard and the Intracoastal Waterway.
- The tornado “made contact with some structures, power lines and Navy vessels,” Fire Rescue said in a statement
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A tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, prompting tornado warnings throughout Broward County.
Video from the South Florida city shows the large tornado moving close to the center.
According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, the tornado originated over land just before 6 p.m. and touched down in Fort Lauderdale Saturday evening, just west of the intersection of Las Olas Boulevard and the Intracoastal Waterway.
The storm had dissipated around 6:30 p.m., Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman said.
Fire Rescue responded to calls about a damaged boat on Las Olas Circle and a house with roof damage on Southeast 10th Street, said Garrett Pingol, chief of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion.
Video from the South Florida city shows the large tornado moving close to the center
The tornado “made contact with some structures, power lines and Navy vessels,” Fire Rescue said in a statement
The tornado “made contact with some structures, power lines and marine vessels in that immediate area” before moving east until it hit the ocean, Pingol explained.
Fire Rescue conducted a “comprehensive area assessment” from Bahia Mar to Sunrise Boulevard and found that as of 7:30 p.m. no one was injured or displaced and there was no significant property damage, although some boats had minor damage.
“An apparent tornado touched down near Las Olas and the Intracoastal earlier this evening,” the city of Fort Lauderdale said in a statement.
'There have been no reports of injuries so far. The Fort Lauderdale Fire Department is assessing the damage, which appears to be minor.
Adding: 'The public should be cautious of debris and downed power lines in the area.'
Jeff Turk received the tornado warning around 5:45 a.m. while on his boat at Bahia Mar Marina.
“The funniest thing is you get a warning that says 'seek shelter, go to a basement,' you know, and we're on a boat here and there are no basements in Florida, or a boat,” he told the Sun Sentinel. .
Turk and his wife watched the tornado from their boat and saw something explode, sparks and debris flying everywhere.
No injuries were reported and the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department is assessing the damage
“Where should they seek shelter?” he asked.
Craig Setzer, a local weatherman, shared a video of X of the tornado that passed by east of downtown Fort Lauderdale.
“I looked at the signature on the radar and it looked like it would be close,” he wrote. “Boy was it.”
There were several reports of other severe weather across Florida on Saturday, including funnel clouds, a water spout and damaging winds.
The highest thunderstorm reported was 50 miles per hour near Pine Island, Fox Weather reported.
The storms are associated with a lingering cold front attached to a powerful nor'eas moving along the East Coast this weekend.
The storm has created a mess of ice, snow and rain as it barrels through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Florida will experience more extreme weather in the coming days as another powerful storm moves across the eastern half of the country.